Diplomacy and writing are both about building stories: Author Vikas Swarup
Summary
Vikas Swarup reflects on how diplomacy shaped his fiction, his long gap before publishing The Girl with Seven Lives, and why he writes social thrillers rooted in Indian society. He also discusses Slumdog Millionaire, literary influences, and the changing landscape of South Asian writing.
Key Points
- Vikas Swarup says diplomacy and writing are both about building stories and seeing the world through other people’s eyes.
- He explains that his busy diplomatic postings in Japan, at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, in Canada, and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his fourth novel.
- Swarup describes his work as a “social thriller,” blending crime and suspense with Indian social realities.
- He praises the global success of South Asian literature and says Slumdog Millionaire was a strong adaptation of his novel Q&A.
