Born in Sri Lanka but spent much of his early childhood in both East and West Africa where many of his stories are set. Packed off to boarding school at the age of eleven – to a Benedictine monastery deep in the wilds of the English countryside – Ashok went on to read Pure Maths at Christ Church, Oxford University, going down three years later in a blaze of glory and a bad Third. After a variety of bum jobs around London he ended up in Brixton (naturally), converting and restoring Victorian houses during the Thatcher Years. He finally cashed in his chips and returned to Sri Lanka, where he continues to design and build houses and is visiting lecturer at the Sri Lanka Institute of Architecture.
Ashok’s first book Colpetty People was shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize of 2002 in manuscript form, and published to critical acclaim in December 2004. It remains to date the biggest selling book of English fiction by a local author writing in Sri Lanka today. His second book, The Good Little Ceylonese Girl, published in 2006, was also shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize of that year. Bitter-sweet stories of the Lankan life, they are perhaps darker, more personal than the previous ones. His most recent book, the novel Serendipity, was published in 2010 and shortlisted for this year's State Literary Prize. Sadly, he never actually won any of these prizes so in his own words, always the bridesmaid never the bride!
Ashok does the illustrations for all his books and says that that is the part he most enjoys. He is married, and lives in Colombo with his wife, two kids, and a whole host of animals in the garden, including two six-foot long garandias (a sort of constrictor). His hobbies include pushing the car when it's out of petrol and de-ticking the dogs. Oh, and vegetable shopping at Raheema's.
