M. G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. Before coming to Canada in 1978, he attended MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in theoretical nuclear physics. Vassanji is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He is winner of the Giller Prize (1994, 2003); the Governor General's Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize.