Mohammed Hanif was born in Okara, Pakistan in 1965. He uated from Pakistan Air Force Academy as Pilot Officer, but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism. He has written plays for the stage and BBC radio and his film The Long Night has been shown at film festivals around the world. He is a graduate of UEA’s creative writing programme and is the former head of the BBC’s Urdu Service in London. His first novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008) was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award. It has also been shortlisted for 2009 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in the Best First Book category as a winner from Europe and South Asia region.