Karen Cogan

Karen Cogan is a writer/performer from Cork and one of  Variety and Screen Daily‘s Irish rising stars.

Karen was in the writers room and wrote on the BAFTA winning Bad Sisters (Apple TV+) She is currently writing on the second series of Bad Sisters. 

She co-wrote and exec produced HOLDING (adapted from the Graham Norton novel) for ITV. Karen’s script FLED topped the 2019 Brit List, with 20 nominations from broadcasters and producers. FLED was one of the BAFTA Rocliffe TV drama 2019 winners. Fled is in development with a broadcaster. 

Karen has original TV scripts in formal development with production companies and broadcasters including Merman, Warp, Lookout Point, BBC, Sky, Channel 4 and ITV. She has recently worked in writers rooms for Sky, Apple and BBC. Karen Cogan wrote on Series 2 of THE YOUNG OFFENDERS for BBC. Karen’s solo play DRIP FEED ran at the Soho Theatre and was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award, an Offie and a Dublin Fringe Award. 

During lockdown, Karen wrote a piece for The Abbey Theatre’s ‘Dear Ireland’ and for HOME Manchester, which won an Offie. Her first play The Half Of It won the Stewart Parker Award and was nominated for five Fringe Awards, winning one. Karen completed the Channel 4 Screenwriting scheme 2019 and is The Phelim Donlon Bursary recipient, The H Club’s Theatre Emerging Creative and an Arts Council Next Generation Artist. She has spoken on panels at the Traverse Theatre, The Guilty Feminist and written a monologue for the Guilty Feminist. Karen trained as an actor at RADA.