Shappi Khorsandi

Shappi Khorsandi is a comedian, author, speaker and advocate for human rights.

Shappi established herself as one of the UK’s finest comedians with her sell-out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker. Despite the basis for the show being her experiences as a child refugee fleeing Iran and terrorists attempting to murder her father, Shappi’s sensitive yet witty exploration of these events created an instant comedy smash hit.

It also led to the publication of her childhood memoirs, “A Beginner’s Guide to Acting English“, her best-selling literary debut, described by the Scotsman as ‘filled with laughter, wonder and compassion’. Emma Thompson said, “This very funny, acute book also made me cry”.

Shappi went on to publish her first novel, Nina Is Not Ok, which was described by the Telegraph as ‘moving, funny and shocking’ and received tremendous acclaim from critics and readers alike.

Shappi’s latest book is ‘Scatter Brain’ in which she looks back on her life through the lens of ADHD and finally makes sense of the chaos.  Jenny Éclair  reviewed it as ‘A kind, helpful and hilarious guide to neurodiversity told as only Shappi can tell it – required reading for all’

Shappi’s career has taken her to all corners of the globe. She has appeared on countless TV & Radio shows, including: Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here, Mock The Week, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, MasterChef, Have I Got News For You, QI, Pointless Celebrities, Question Time and Just a Minute, as well as her own show, Shappi Talk.