Mohsin Hamid was born in 1971 in Lahore. He grew up mostly in Pakistan but spent part of his childhood in California and returned to America to attend Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He then worked in New York and London, initially as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and later as managing director of branding firm Wolff Olins.
His first novel, Moth Smoke (2000), told the story of an ex-banker and heroin addict in contemporary Lahore. It was published in 10 languages and became a cult hit in Pakistan, where it was made into a television miniseries. It was also the winner of a Betty Trask Award, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and a New York Times notable book of the year. It is being adapted for the cinema by Rahul Bose.
His second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), recounted a Pakistani man's abandonment of his high-flying life in New York. Published in 21 languages, it became a bestseller in both America and Pakistan. It won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the South Bank Show Award for Literature, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and was a New York Times notable book of the year. Film rights have been optioned by Mira Nair.
Mohsin’s writing has appeared in TIME, The New York Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the Washington Post, La Repubblica, the Paris Review, and other publications. He became a British citizen in 2006 and now holds dual Pakistani-British nationality. He lives in London with his wife Zahra.