Pan Macmillan snaps up Ben Elton's memoir
Ben Elton’s memoir, What Have I Done?, will be published by Pan Macmillan this autumn. Publishing director Sara Cywinski acquired world all-language rights in print, serial, digital and audio from Phil McIntyre Entertainment.
Dubbed by the publisher as "one-of-a-kind" and "one volume only", the memoir will be published in hardback, e-book and audio in October 2025, with the audiobook read by the author. Publication will be accompanied by "a major, unmissable publicity and marketing campaign", said Pan Macmillan.
The synopsis reads: "What has Ben Elton done? Well, he’s pretty much done everything and worked with everybody and now he’s telling the whole story in one unputdownable volume. 65 years in the making, this frank, forthright and hugely entertaining autobiography takes a deep dive into Ben’s life and times, both private and public.
"He reveals the true stories behind iconic hits such as The Young Ones, Blackadder and We Will Rock You, his pioneering routines hosting Saturday Live, which birthed a revolution in stand-up comedy, and so much more. Ben recounts his life and uniquely varied career from his Catford childhood and being the BBC’s youngest ever sitcom writer at 21 right up to the present day, with yet another hit sitcom, Upstart Crow; a surprise late-life BAFTA; and his most critically acclaimed stand-up comedy show to date."
Pan Macmillan said: "Alongside unique insights into his ground-breaking work, Ben talks honestly and compellingly about his personal and professional relationships with two generations of brilliant friends, inspiring contemporaries, occasional foes and the times in which they all lived. And Ben’s life has been just as challenging, rewarding and funny off-screen as it has been on. He unpacks it all with wit, insight and complete honesty. And, of course, there’s a ‘little bit of politics’."
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The publisher added: "For 45 years, Ben’s been making a lot of people laugh, a lot of people think and getting on quite a lot of people’s wicks. He’s full of stories and he tells them unvarnished and uncensored – he’s sharing his truth as they say these days, and he’s up to his neck in it."
Elton said: "I’ve been writing fiction all my life. This story is true. Well, quite frankly, you couldn’t make it up."
Cywinski said: "There is no one quite like Ben Elton. He’s a man who has worn many hats across his long and varied career that it’s hard to put him in a box. It’s been amazing to have the opportunity to work alongside Ben, get the inside track on many countless and acclaimed shows, novels and musicals – and see a writing genius at work."
Elton is an award-winning novelist, playwright, television writer, screenwriter and lyricist. He is also a theatre, screen and TV director, a stand-up comedian and an occasional actor. He studied drama at Manchester University, where he now holds an honorary doctorate, and began his professional career in 1981. He now divides his time between Britain and Australia. In 2007 he was awarded the Special Golden Rose d’Or at The International Television Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland, for his lifetime contribution to the television arts.
