Vikas Swarup was born in Allahabad, India in a family of lawyers. After his schooling, Vikas attended Allahabad University and studied History, Psychology and Philosophy. He also made his mark as a champion debater, winning National level competitions. After graduating with distinction, he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986, motivated by an interest in international relations and a desire to explore different cultures. In his diplomatic career, Vikas has been posted to various countries such as Turkey (1987-1990), the United States (1993-1997) Ethiopia (1997-2000), the United Kingdom (2000-2003) and South Africa (2006-2009). Since August 2009, he is the Consul General of India in Osaka-Kobe, Japan.

He penned his first novel, Q&A, in two months, when he was posted in London. Published in 2005 by Doubleday/Random House (UK & Commonwealth), Harper Collins (Canada) and Scribner (US) it has been published in 42 languages. It was short listed for the Best First Book by the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize and won South Africa’s Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2006 as well as the Paris Book Fair’s Reader’s Prize, the Prix Grand Public, in 2007. It was voted the Most Influential Book of 2008 in Taiwan, and winner of the Best Travel Read (Fiction) at the Heathrow Travel Product Award 2009.

Harper Collins brought out the audio book, read by Kerry Shale, which won the award for Best Audio Book of the Year 2005. The BBC produced a radio play based on the book which won the Gold Award for Best Drama at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2008 and the IVCA Clarion Award 2008. The film version of Q&A, titled "Slumdog Millionaire," directed by Danny Boyle, took the world by storm, winning more than 70 awards including four Golden Globes, 7 BAFTAs and a staggering 8 Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

Vikas’s second novel, SIX SUSPECTS, was released in the UK & Commonwealth by Transworld in August 2008. Published by Harper Collins in Canada and St Martin’s Press in the US, it has sold translation rights in 30 languages. Radio 4 commissioned a radio play based on the novel. It has been optioned for a film by the BBC and Starfield Productions.

His most recent novel is THE ACCIDENTAL APPRENTICE.

Books by Vikas Swarup

The Accidental Apprentice

by Vikas Swarup - Fiction, Suspense

Sapna Sinha, an ordinary salesgirl in an electronics store in downtown Delhi, is approached by Vinay Mohan Acharya, a billionaire industrialist and one of India's richest men. He offers to make her CEO of his company. There is only one catch --- she needs to pass seven tests from the "textbook of life". Thus begins the most challenging journey Sapna has ever undertaken --- one that will test her character, her courage, and her capabilities. But are the seven tests real or is Acharya playing a game driven by a perverse fantasy?