In 1987 I had a German girlfriend and wanted to learn German. I wanted to read in German but there was nothing simple enough for me to read. As a lover of humour, I started translating jokes into German and then telling them to my German friends. As a result, my German improved dramatically and I was certain that others could benefit from jokes in foreign languages. I set about arranging translations and finding publishers. The rest, as they say, is hysterical.

 

1989 - Bastei-Lübbe, Germany

My first book. First offered to Langenscheidt who liked the idea but felt that they were a ‘serious schoolbook publisher’ who shouldn’t publish such books. Bastei was not my choice but it was his first ever book and it sold well.

For a sample text from the English German joke book, click here.

1989 - Aventura Forlag, Norway

I met Liv Salbu on a train in Denmark. I helped her out of a difficult situation and she wanted to thank me. This book is the result. It hit the Norwegian bestseller lists in December 1989.

For a sample text from the English Norwegian joke book, click here.

1990 - Aventura Forlag, Norway

The Norwegians were very satisfied with the first book so they asked for, and got, a second book. It didn’t sell as well as the first one but sequels rarely do. It was popular with Norwegian teachers who used it in class.

1990 Strandbergs, Denmark

Strandbergs attempted to copy the Norwegians but failed terribly. For some reason they changed the title to ‘Hiv og Sving’ which means ‘Push and Pull’ – a physics textbook perhaps? They also put the name of the Norwegian translator, Liv Salbu, on the cover... Sales were ‘disappointing’.

For a sample text from the English Danish joke book, click here.

1990 SGEL, Spain

I flew to Barcelona and took the night train to Madrid to meet a man from SGEL. When I arrived, I was told the man was on holiday! Distribution was poor and sales were 'modest'.

For a sample text from the English Spanish joke book, click here.

1993 Horizont, Czech Republic

In 1992 I moved to the Czech Republic and 8 months later, the Czech version came out. It sold very well and was popular with foreigners learning Czech as well as Czechs practising their English.

For a sample text from the English Czech joke book, click here.

1996 Wiedza Powzechna, Poland

The best illustrations of all the books. So good that the Swedes used the same illustrations for their version. The Poles chose to do the translations themselves and the book sold well although distribution was poor - perhaps affected by pirate copies coming in from Ukraine. Amazing how they can do that when the official price was only one pound.

For a sample text from the English Polish joke book, click here.

2000 Corona AB, Sweden

The best joke book cover – nicely combining the British and Swedish flags in a humorous way. Apparently the Swedish book market is ‘ice cold’ and not even the jokebook can change things. Perhaps a price tag of 92 Swedish Krone doesn’t help either.

For a sample text from the English Swedish joke book, click here.

2004 Šviesa, Lithuania

For more information on the book, click here.

For a sample text from the English Lithuanian joke book, click here.

2007 Garamond, Czech Republic

The Czech English joke book is selling like hot klobasa in the Czech Republic. For more information, click here. If you'd like a sample, contact me using the e.mail link below.

2009 dtv, Germany

In dtv's very popular bilingual series. Will it sell like hot bratwurst? We'll have to wait until next year for the figures.