Jess Karamjeet emigrated to New Zealand/Aotearoa in January 2019 armed with a Masters degree in Writing for Performance, writing and storylining credits from international sensations NEIGHBOURS and COLD FEET, and a secret desire to be a stand-up comedian.

Flash-forward to 2025, she’s completed three comedy-music festival hours, ‘GRIEF-SEX-RACE,’ (PANNZ Touring Award) ‘REDUNDANT’ (Artshub****) and ‘RAY!’ (NZICF).

Jess has Edinburgh Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and New Zealand International Comedy Festival under her belt, including the award-winning GRIEF-SEX-RACE musical duo show.

In 2022 she began producing the Asian Comedy Takeover shows and founded the Pan-Asian Comedy School Aotearoa, training under-represented voices in the art of stand-up comedy.

As a screenwriter, Jess has been the recipient of a SEED ADVANCED grant from the NZ Writers’ Guild and NZ Film Commission for her domestic thriller BUT THEN THERE WAS ELLA, and is searching for a producer. In December 2023, she was also commissioned to develop her semi-autobiographical TV series CHRONIC through her production company: New Way Productions Ltd.

Jess currently works in writers’ rooms, in Tamaki Makaurau and internationally, and loves nothing more than to help other intersectional creatives and bring their ‘babies’ to life.