M. G. Vassanji

Who is M. G. Vassanji?

Moyez G. Vassanji, CM is a novelist and editor, who writes under the name M. G. Vassanji. A citizen of Canada, Vassanji's identity easily straddles three continents.

M. G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in nuclear physics, before moving to Canada as a postdoctoral fellow in 1978. From 1980 to 1989 he was a research associate at the University of Toronto. During this period he developed a keen interest in medieval Indian literature and history, co-founded and edited a literary magazine, and began writing fiction. In 1989, with the publication of his first novel, The Gunny Sack, he was invited to spend a season at the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa. In 1996 he was a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, India.

M.G. Vassanji is one of Canada's most acclaimed writers. He has published six novels, two collections of short stories, a memoir of his travels in India, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. His work has appeared in various countries and several languages. Vassanji has been nominated for the Giller Prize for best work of fiction in Canada three times, winning twice. He has also been awarded the Commonwealth Regional Prize, and the Governor-General's Prize for nonfiction. His work has also been shortlisted for the Rogers Prize, the Governor-General's Prize in Canada for fiction, as well as the Crossword Prize in India. His most recent book, set in Tanzania will be published in Canada in 2012. He is a member of the Order of Canada and has been awarded several honorary doctorates.