Josh Bates

Joshua Bates is a stand-up comedian, writer, and owner of Wit’s End Comedy Clubin North Charleston, South Carolina. A retired military veteran turned performer and storyteller, his work blends sharp humor with deeply personal reflections on family, grief, identity, and the strange absurdities of everyday life.

His debut memoir-in-verse, Granite and Smoke, explores memory, loss, masculinity, service, and survival through a series of intimate essays and poems written in a voice that is equal parts honest, darkly funny, and quietly hopeful.

He lives in South Carolina with his family, where he continues to write, perform, and occasionally overshare for a living.