Vikas Swarup

Vikas Swarup Biography

Vikas Swarup is an Indian novelist and diplomat who has served in several foreign countries. As a novelist his best known works are Q & A, Six Suspects and The Accidental Apprentice. His debut novel, Q & A is the story of a penniless waiter in Mumbai who becomes rich by winning the biggest quiz show in history.  Later this movie was made to Hollywood movie, Slumdog Millionaire which swept many international awards in the year 2008 including academy awards and BAFTA. Q & A won South Africa's Boeke Prize 2006 and was shortlisted for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. It also won the Prix Grand Public at the 2007 Paris Book Fair and translated to 42 languages worldwide. As a diplomat he has served in countries like US, UK, Japan, South Africa, Ethiopia and Turkey.  Swarup is married to an artist Aparna and has two sons, Aditya and Varun.

Vikas Swarup was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. He did his schooling at Boys' High School. Later he studied Psychology, History and Philosophy from Allahabad University.  In 1986 Swarup joined Indian Foreign Service (IFS). Currently he is posted as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi since September 2013. Previously he worked in foreign cities like Ankara, Washington DC, Addis Ababa, London and Pretoria. He has also served as Consul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan.

His debut novel, Q & A, not only was a bestseller, but also earned him international acclaim and awards. When it was made to a feature film, Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle his fame spread worldwide. The movie swept five awards out of its six nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards, seven BAFTA Awards and above all 8 awards out of 10 Oscar nominations. This single film completely dominated all award functions in the year 2008 and won all major awards as well. Swarup's second novel Six Suspects, has been translated to more than 30 languages. Swarup's most recent novel is The Accidental Apprentice.

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Updated: September 25, 2017