Manu Joseph was born in 1974, in Kottayam, in the south Indian state of Kerala. He grew up in Madras, and is a literature graduate from Loyola College. He attempted to study journalism at the Madras Christian College but left when he found a job as staff writer for the Society Magazine. At the age of 21 he moved to Bombay, which he considers home. He now lives in Delhi. Serious Men, his first novel, is the winner of The Hindu Best Fiction Award. The novel has been picked by The Independent, Huffington Post and the Carlifornia Chronicle, among others, as one of the best books of 2010. He is working on a second novel, and edits the national newsweekly, Open.