Vikas Swarup

Vikas Swarup is an Indian diplomat who has served in Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia and Great Britain. He is presently posted in Pretoria as India's Deputy High Commissioner to South Africa. His debut novel, "Q and A", tells the story of how a penniless waiter in Mumbai becomes the biggest quiz show winner in history. Critically acclaimed in India and abroad, this international bestseller is being translated into 34 languages. It was shortlisted for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and won South Africa’s Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2006, as well as the Prix Grand Public at the 2007 Paris Book Fair. Film Four of the UK have optioned the movie rights and the movie titled "Slumdog Millionaire" is being directed by Danny Boyle. It will be released at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. A West End musical with Nitin Sawhney providing the musical score, is in the works. A BBC radio play based on the book was aired recently on Radio 4 and won the Gold Award for Best Drama at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2008. Harper Collins brought out the audio book, read by Kerry Shale, which won the Audie for best fiction audio book of the year.

Vikas Swarup's second novel "Six Suspects", published by Transworld, was released on July 28, 2008.

Vikas Swarup has participated in the Oxford Literary Festival, the Turin International Book Fair, the Auckland Writers’ Conference, the Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Kitab Festival in New Delhi, the St. Malo International Book & Film Festival in France and the 'Words on Water' Literary Festival at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

External links

More information on Vikas Swarup and "Q and A" can be found on [http://www.vikasswarup.net his website]

[http://www.theampersandagency.co.uk/blog Ampersand Agency blog including posts on Vikas Swarup's work]