About being 'from two worlds at once'

Phil Wang has written his first book, inspired by the question he’s asked with relentless regularity: ‘But where are you really from?’

The volume, Sidesplitter, is subtitled  How To Be From Two Worlds At Once and revolves around his dual heritage.. 

Wang was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1990 to an English mother and a Chinese-Malaysian father. Three weeks after his birth, the family returned to his father's hometown in Malaysia, where they lived until he was 16, then returning to England.

He then studied at Cambridge, joined the Footlights comedy troupe and won the 2010 Chortle Student Comedy Award before making inroads into TV. He was a contestant in series seven of Taskmaster and has had his own Radio 4 pilot, Wangsplaining.Publisher Hodder Studio say: ‘In Sidesplitter, Phil reflects on race, belonging and cultural cachet, bringing his trademark cynicism and wit to topics that range from food and comedy to empire and colonialism.’

The book will be published on September 16 – Malaysia's national day -  and signed copies are already available to order from Waterstones.

It will be accompanied by an audio release, entitled, They Come Over Here: Asking Famous People Where They’re Really From.

To be released on June 24, it will  feature discussions with guests and comic monologues from Wang.

Publisher Myfanwy Moore, the BBC's former head of comedy, said: 'Phil is a fantastically bright and inventive comic, and we are thrilled to be working with him on his first book and audio original.

'His is a funny, incisive and honest take on being brought up in two very different cultures, looking at what that means personally for him, while also asking wider questions about empire and the idea of home.'

Published: 24 Feb 2021