Putting our best book forward

Straight Outta Crawley is the hilarious and irreverent autobiography from comedian Romesh Ranganathan.

At the age of 9, Romesh Ranganathan delivered his first ever stand-up set at a Pontin's holiday camp talent competition, smashing the other competitor, a young girl playing the kazoo.

The gig went so well that Romesh retired his comic genius for 22 years, hiding behind the guise of a math teacher, before finally revealing himself again (no, not like that) at the tender age of 31. In 2010, Ranganathan staged his epic comeback gig to an almost silent room, and has since gone on to earn his place as the most in-demand overweight vegan Sri Lankan comedian in Britain.

Now, for the first time, he tells the full story of how he got here. From the delights of Sri Lankan hospitality to his struggles as a child, teacher and now parent, to his adolescent flirtation with a rap career and his attempts to make it in comedy, Straight Outta Crawley is Ranganathan's hilarious and irreverent autobiography.

Romesh Ranganathan is a stand-up comedian and actor. A former math teacher, he made his comedy circuit debut in 2010, and has quickly established himself as one of British comedy’s brightest stars. His two Edinburgh Festival shows, ‘Rom Com’ and ‘Rom Wasn’t Built In a Day’, were nominated for the prestigious Edinburgh Foster’s Best Newcomer Award 2013 and Best Show Award 2014. In 2015 his BBC series Asian Provocateur was nominated for a BAFTA and received wide critical acclaim. In 2016 his debut solo tour, Irrational, sold over 100,000 tickets and saw Romesh receive the Ents24 Hardest Working Comedian of the Year award. Romesh appears frequently on multiple TV and radio shows, is the star of Asian Provocateur, The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, The Reluctant Landlord and Just Another Immigrant, and a regular on A League of Their Own. He writes occasionally for the Guardian.