Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, commonly known as V.S. Naipaul, was a Trinidadian-born British writer renowned for his works of fiction and nonfiction in English. Born on 17 August 1932, he is celebrated for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his more somber novels exploring alienation, and his insightful chronicles of life and travel.

Naipaul published over thirty books throughout his fifty-year career. His breakthrough novel, A House for Mr Biswas, was published in 1961. He won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1971 for his novel In a Free State. In 1990, he was awarded the Trinity Cross, Trinidad and Tobago's highest national honor, and received a knighthood in Britain. He was also the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.