"Franny Steinberg knows there's powerful magic in laughter. She's witnessed it. With the men of Chicago off fighting WWII on distant shores, Franny has watched the women of the city taking charge of the war effort. But amidst the war bond sales and factory shifts, something surprising has emerged, something Franny could never have expected. A new marvel that has women flocking to comedy clubs across the nation: the Showstopper. When Franny steps into...

Three traveling companions -- artist Dylan O'Conner, his autistic brother Shep, and Jillian Jackson, a stand-up comic -- are on the run, one step ahead of deadly pursuers, as they race to uncover the meaning of a vicious violation committed against them.

Agreeing to write jokes for Dorcas, a struggling stand-up comic, Jaine Austen discovers that murder is the punchline when Dorcas's rival, a heckler named Vic, is strangled with one of her props--a pair of pantyhose.

Jamie's an aspiring stand-up comic in Los Angeles with a growing case of stage anxiety. Siri's a stunning ballerina from New Jersey dealing with a career-changing injury. When the two girls meet at the Rediscover Yourself retreat in Colorado, they discover they are sisters separated as young children by their bitterly divorced parents. With some fortuitous magic, the two change places to confront their pasts.

Nancy and her sleuthing friends race to find out who is responsible for sabotaging a controversial comedian's upcoming performance at River Heights's new arts complex, where an exhibition of Dutch Masters is being installed.

"Jerry and his friends George, Elaine, and Kramer spend the day doing nothing in New York City"--

"Dark, deviant, and deliriously funny, Jude Angelini writes in the colloquial vein of Charles Bukowski, using his unique, natural voice to tell stories from his life. He writes about his sexual encounter--both strange and intimat--alongside stories from his childhood and his tell-all experiences with "science drugs." Throughout it all, Jude is critical of himself and his actions, proving himself to be vulnerable, lonely, and extremely relatable. A...

"Jen has dumped Andy, and he's handling the breakup in exactly the way all his friends and family might have expected: very, very badly. Crashing at his mother's house and obsessively photographing his hairline, Andy embraces the rites and rituals of every breakup-the ill-advised decision to move onto a houseboat, the forced merriment of a lads' night out, the accidental late-night text to the ex-all resulting in a never-ending shame spiral. Even...

Billy Plimpton wants to be a famous comedian when he grows up but his stutter is getting in the way, and right now he is so worried about being made fun of by the kids in his new school that he plans on not talking at all, but the plan backfires because his persistent silence only draws attention of the school bully--and Billy realizes that he needs another plan, one that does not depend on him speaking without a stutter.

The setting is a comedy club in a small Israeli town. An audience that has come expecting an evening of amusement instead sees a comedian falling apart on stage; an act of disintegration, a man crumbling, as a matter of choice, before their eyes. They could get up and leave, or boo and whistle and drive him from the stage, if they were not so drawn to glimpse his personal hell. Dovaleh G, a veteran stand-up comic charming, erratic, repellent exposes...