MUMBAI: Etan Cohen (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Tropic Thunder) will receive the comedy writer of the year award at the Just for Laughs Comedy Conference in Montreal, while Todd Phillips (The Hangover) is to receive the award for comedy director of the year.

Cohen will also participate in a panel titled Comedy's Next Generation of Writers: A Look Ahead along with Tami Sagher (30 Rock), Jeremy Garelick (production re-write on The Hangover, writer/producer of The Break-Up) and Dan Sterling (Sarah Silverman Program).

The conference is also hosting The Web: Comedy's New Wild West with speakers such as Mike Farah (Funnyordie.com) and Avi Rothman (creator of The Inappropriate Yoga Guy).
In Breaking New Ground: Adult Animation Grows Up, animated show creators will discuss what's now possible in the genre, how the rules for writing animation are different and what they think works in animated comedy.

Other panels and sessions booked for the Comedy Conference include Producing Great Comedy: The Secret Sauce, The Business of Comedy on Television: What's Up? and Late Night: In the Writers Room.

The Montreal Just For Laughs Festival takes place from 3 to 26 July.