John Kearns (I)

John Kearns: From the Giggling Gibbon to Soho Theatre

Without getting too sentimental It's been exciting to watch him develop from that first gig at the Giggling Gibbon.

John Kearns: the comic who made history

John Kearns won both Edinburgh's big comedy prizes in consecutive years - beneath the silly wig lies a golden talent.

As the platoon of comedians at this year's Edinburgh fringe start planning their journeys south for the autumn, there's just time for this showcase of 2014's most exciting new acts. Seann Walsh, BBC Three's anointed representative of twentysomething comics since they uncovered Russell Kane's birth certificate, comperes the evening, which features sets from, among others, 2014 Edinburgh comedy award winner John Kearns and the best newcomer nominee Dane Baptiste.

John Kearns: loser takes all at Edinburgh

John Kearns has turned failure into silly, soul-searching comedy. Will scooping Edinburgh's top comedy award spoil the punchline? Brian Logan meets the man hailed as the new Hancock.

John Kearns, the early years, by Harry Deansway

The first London is Funny got wind of John Kearns - the new Fosters Award winner - was back in 2010, following a tip-off by Harry Deansway, Kearns's then-manager and the comedy circuit's very own Delboy. Here, Deansway recalls [his version of] those hazy, crazy days when success was just a glint in the bespectacled eye.

Profile: John Kearns

'Being a comic? I didn't even know that was a job'

Opinion: Brains beats banter again

So John Kearns won the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award today. The first ever Best Newcomer to win the main prize in the following year and, perhaps more significantly, the first Free Fringe performer to win the Edinburgh Comedy Award. The Free Fringe has been having more of an impact every year since Imran Yusuf first picked up a Best Newcomer nomination, but that's another story. I want to celebrate and discuss Kearns' victory here.

John Kearns on cracking Edinburgh

John Kearns is a stand-up comedian. Last year, he won Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. He talks to IdeasMag about nightmare gigs, Doctor Brown, and balancing full-time work with comedy...