Tash Aw was born in Taipei, in the Republic of China, and brought up in Malaysia. He moved to England to attend university and now lives in London. He is the author of The Harmony Silk Factory, which was the winner of the Whitbread Award for First Novel and the Commonwealth Book Prize for best first novel and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and Map of the Invisible World. His other awards include the inaugural M Literary fellowship in Shanghai and an O. Henry Award.