Interview

1. How is women’s humour different from the humour of men?

We aren’t sure it is very different. But humorous stories and articles written by women seem to have less of an online presence, so we set up Funny Pearls to prove how amusing women can be and to give women writers their own showcase for humour.

2. What was the inspiration for creating Funny Pearls?

In the summer of 2018 when we were thinking about setting up Funny Pearls, there didn’t seem to be any online journals especially dedicated to the funniness of women, so we stepped into that gap. We also wanted to create an eZine which could be consumed in bite-sized chunks – while on a commute or waiting for the kettle to boil – but which could be an alternative to internet gossip or surfing the news, something which would brighten the reader’s day.

3. When did it become clear that the website is a success?

Success is an elastic term. We had no way of knowing whether writers would submit their work to us back when we were basically a blank page, so we were pretty thrilled to get contributions. Later, we started mapping our global readership and realized the extent of our reach, and this pleased us greatly. We have also noticed that many of our writers who got a start at Funny Pearls have gone on to further publishing success and this, we believe, suggests that the quality of our submissions is high. But in terms of expanding the readership, we still have a long way to go. The goalposts keep moving.

 4. Why do you think Funny Pearls has had such a positive response?

 We try to avoid mean-spirited humour. We want our readers to feel happier after reading Funny Pearls so, even when a story is thought-provoking, challenging, or covers the darker aspects of being human, it seeks out the funnier side.

In addition, Funny Pearls is free. You don’t have to pay to read it or to subscribe and our site isn’t cluttered with adverts or pop-ups which you have to keep closing or dismissing. This makes for a more relaxing and aesthetic experience.

5. You work closely together. Do your tastes in comedy ever clash?

We rarely disagree about what we consider funny, but we sometimes find different things absolutely hilarious. Our responses are useful reminders that everybody’s sense of humour is unique to them, and this encourages us to cater for different tastes in humour.

We both read all our submissions and agree which pieces to accept. The same goes for the competitions. We usually have more or less the same stories in our top ten. Even in our top three, actually.

There are, of course, differences in our working styles: Mette puts her head down and only comes up when she’s hungry or it’s suddenly grown dark without her having noticed, whereas Philippa is juggling a big, combined family, so often works in bursts – on trains, in the kitchen while waiting for something to simmer, or late at night.

6. Funny Pearls gets hits from all over the world. What have you learned from this?

Funny is funny. While tastes in comedy may differ, there is a fundamental desire to laugh, to see the lighter side of life and to seek humour, even in situations which are otherwise bad. This seems to be true for all human beings, regardless of culture or geography.

7. Which types of humour are most popular with your subscribers?

That is hard to say. Even if we analysed the most read stories, it is impossible to factor out other influences such as the popularity of the particular author, a strong social media presence or varying trends. But, because written humour uses the power of words to create the funny images or ideas in the reader’s mind, we would guess that the stories which are not just about amusing situations but are also wittily written, would be popular. Having a distinct and funny narrative voice is always going to be entertaining.

8. Are there any types of humour you do not accept?

We are not fans of humour which is mean-spirited or cruel. Our mission is to provide a platform for women writers and so we endeavour, as far as we are able, to create a happy and supportive environment for them, as well as for our readers

9. What next?

We are always looking to expand our readership! And, while we are absolutely thrilled with the Ebook we have produced with Amazon this year, we would like to publish a print collection of short stories when we can.