John Allen (He/Him)

Amazing news, darlings! Hansella's Off Menu was just selected by Vesuvio International's 44th Movie Awards Festival in Italy! The team and I are delighted and TOMORROW we will be at London's Everyman Cinema in King's Cross for the London Night Film Festival where the short is screening in the UK!

I’m doing a WIP of my show in London on 23rd July at The Libra Cafe and would love to see as many people there as possible! Please come along & spread the word. Stand up, characters and songs 🙌 www.ticketsource.com/crackin-come...

Edinburgh here I come! @edfringe 11-20th Aug and I would love to have as many people come and see the show as possible! Please share and spread the word! Thank you! www.edfringe.com/tickets/what...

Terrible news, darling! "Hansellas Off Menu" was just selected by FilmOneFest (Films under 2 Minutes) The FilmOneFest is an annual short film festival challenging filmmakers of all kinds to tell their stories in UNDER 2 MINUTES. www.aharts.org/filmonefest

She is a very very funny lady. Her Liz Truss impression is eerily accurate...

Final 5 at Stoke Rep Theatre's Malcolm Rushton Prize 2026. Great to see Carrots for Mum up and running on stage!

I have two shows coming up in May! @brightonfringe.bsky.social and Beam in Hertford! Please spread the word! 8th May Brighton 6:45 15th May Hertford 7:45 Please come along! Link to tickets: linktr.ee/nerineskinner

Great company and crew! youtu.be/A2SKbKqraHs?...

I just submitted "Hansella's Off Menu" a half hour TV comedy pilot to The Screenwriter's Script & Screenplay Showcase via FilmFreeway.com! With a series teaser currently in post production, fingers crossed I can get enough attention to bring Hansella to a wider audience soon!

#hansellasoffmenu #teaser #shooting tomorrow! Huge thanks to Christie Peto & Tayla Kenyon from @teepeeprods.bsky.social helping me with this. Seemed daft not to try as the script was a finalist @scriptsandco.bsky.social, Wiki, & now the FINAL 10 at PAGE International youtu.be/w3GpLIqXHRI?...

At a friend's funeral yesterday reminded me of the importance of staying connected, but also living more offline. There were no phones. No selfies. No one trying to jump up and down for attention. Just friends and family remembering, chatting, mourning and celebrating our friend.

If someone had told me 20 years ago that one day l’d be number 1 in breast cancer on Amazon I’d… probably not have been too happy about it. Still, this is nice to see, today! And you can buy the book here: linktr.ee/ThisMightSur... #cansky

Fantastic article from @supercrip1994.bsky.social via @ign.com on #accessibility in videogames - and as a fan of Hollow Knight and it's sequel, Silksong, this really resonates. www.ign.com/articles/hol...

Nice surprise this week. "Hansella's Off Menu" has made the final 10 in the TV Comedy category at The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards. And we aim to shoot a teaser in October! pageawards.com/past-winners...

Go on, have a peek inside my book! “This Might Surprise You: A Breast Cancer Story” will be published NEXT WEEK! Preorders are open now! linktr.ee/ThisMightSur...

Taking a brief break from Milford Critique Week (where I'm having a fab time at the wonderful Gladstone's Library @gladlib.bsky.social) to celebrate the #bookrelease of my #solarpunk short story collection "Futures to Live By" by Newcon Press 🌻 www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...

Good opportunity for a little R&D for anything you might be working on. #playwright #screenwriting

Sabrina is really funny so if you like #comedy #horror do share this and if you can... chuck in a a few $ greenlit.com/project/grow

“This Might Surprise You: A Breast Cancer Story” is now available for pre-order! It’ll be published in the UK on 25 September. Pre-order here: linktr.ee/ThisMightSur... #cansky

This is rather lovely - "Adventure SF with heart" - my latest story, out now in #analog

Always nice to be interviewed! Especially about writing! www.wikiscreenplaycontest.com/john-allen-i...

Recommend!

Why so silly? Having a 1 year old Supreme Leader dictating what I can and cannot do is limiting my social media time. Anyway, I actually got 5 minutes to collect my thoughts (and try not to cry over an empty wallet) this week! johnallenwriter.com/blog/why-so-...

And so it would transpire that Kneel Before Pod hit 300 regular format episodes (!!!), and we marked the occasion with a double-header Twitch/YouTube livestream. You can now hear the audio edit on the feed, wherever you get your podcasts 🤩

Such a great night at Ryaknots Theatre's scratch night last Thursday. Not only was it great to see other works in progress, I couldn't have asked for a better cast to bring "Carrots for Mum" to life in such a short space of time! Kudos to Arabella Fraser, Ruth Piggot and Lucy Eddington! #theatre

Be kind. Do the right thing... Then eat a truckload of pizza, drink some beer, and tell the world to go do one whilst you're tapped out.

#Playwrights Great update from @mrdavebyrne.bsky.social at @royalcourttheatre.bsky.social Read! You won't regret it!

There are over 40 hand-picked writing awards, bursaries and residencies in this special edition. All with upcoming deadlines. Go get ‘em. open.substack.com/pub/freelanc...

This Thursday, my short play "Carrots for Mum" is appearing in Ryaknots Theatre's scratch night in Chiswick. More info here: www.instagram.com/p/DK4R6UAMkL... and to tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ryaknots-s... Be lovely to see fellow Blueskyers there!

Launched today: "Building Women" by Faye Allen (my sister!) Stories and recommendations on how we can equalise the construction industry so that women and men feel safe and inspired to pursuse their careers! A must read for men and women trying to equalise igg.me/at/FayeAllen...

Tickets available for Ryaknots Theatre's opening scratch night at Arcane in London's trendy Chiswick are now on sale. 5 short plays performed live including "Carrots for Mum" a comedy-drama wot I wrote. www.eventbrite.com/e/ryaknots-s... Limited space (small venue)

This is on Thursday! Who lives near Amersham? Please spread the word as I’m not sure why this is so hard to sell this time around. Is everyone on holiday? 🤣#amersham #comedy

If I hear one more dog owner saying "they know how I feel" when I tell them how tired I am because my 1 year old hasn't slept properly for 6 months, I might be rude. But to be clear to dog owners: a dog is not a f**king child. Unless you have a child, you don't know "how I feel".

😅

Flibble is my contribution to today's conversations.

This is coming up on Sunday if anyone fancies it! #london #bankholiday #comedy #standupcomedy #workinprogress

Conan-Doyle had to make Holmes use cocaine from time to time. Because if he exclusively used morphine he'd always be no-shit Sherlock. #I10Q

New poll: When someone asks why you haven't been online much recently, which answer is your favourite? A: My dog ate my phone even though my dog died 20 years ago. B: A Xenomorph melted my phone and wouldn't pay for the repair. C: Tangoman stole my phone to create chaos in the 90s. D: KHAAAAAN!

I just submitted "Hansella's Off Menu" to Wiki: The World's Fastest Screenplay Contest! via FilmFreeway.com! (they made me write this! Help! Help! It's the social media thought police!) Seriously though... thanks for encouraging me to submit #writer friends.

Just a few tickets left for this tomorrow night! Get them quick! Link to book: www.ticketsource.co.uk/crackin-comedy #amersham #comedy #standup

Now they are defined Who did not ask to be defined So my friends suffer. #poetry

Just learned that one of my TV comedy pilots "Hansella's Off Menu" has made the Quarter Finals of @scriptsandco.bsky.social International Festival 2025. Slightly concerned that Hansella, "the world's BEST food critic, darling" (just don't ask her to cook for you) has made it this far.

Watched Fluff from @teepeeprods.bsky.social this evening at New Wimbledon Studio. Tayla Kenyon and James Piercy have written a really poignant take on dementia. And Tayla's performance elevates it to something special. Go see if you can.

Nominations for "Best Satirical Magazine Cover 2025" are heating up...

'An hour in there, and you’d end up a raft of bone, drifting towards the shore with skin hanging off you like a punctured rubber inflatable.' Fancy a dip? I'm chuffed that 'Quicklime Lake' has been chosen as one of the 10 stories in 'Tales of Folk Horror,' available to pre-order: mybook.to/Folk2

Buy this. Don't be scared! @cwstagg.bsky.social has an eye for the macabre, bizarre, and entertaining spookiness.

Made the @hightidetheatre.bsky.social writers group longlist for 2025! Didn't make the final 6 to be selected this year, but it's good to know I'm heading in the "write" direction... with apologies to puns everywhere. More scribbling and nonsense to do! ✍️

Trying to listen to a great talk at London Screen Festival online at the same time as feeding a 10 month old is like trying to drive a car backwards, whilst singing La Traviata without a music sheet whilst the orchestra moves ahead 10 bars.