He has published six books since 2011.
According to an interview in the online literary magazine Starling, he does not have a set time to write.
He makes the most of the spare moments that come his way, and because his time is so valuable, he makes sure he is prepared when he does get down to his writing.
Born in Sri Lanka, Gnanalingam moved with his parents to Lower Hutt at the age of 3.
His first novel, "Getting Under Sail", was published in 2011.
This was based on his own experiences travelling overland from Morocco to Ghana.
It was followed at almost two-yearly intervals by five other novels.
He lived in Paris from 2012 to 2013, and the result was "You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here".
His 2017 novel, "Sodden Downstream" was shortlisted for the 2018 Ockham Book awards.
During the Whanganui Literary Festival, Gnanalingam will be interviewed by Kiran Dass, one of the judges of the Ockham Book Award who short-listed his latest book, Sprigs.
The judges report said that Sprigs was 'an unflinching novel which forces us to reckon with uncomfortable truths about power and privilege in Aotearoa.'
His festival audience will be interested to hear about the issues which drive Gnanalingam's fiction, and how he uses personal experience as his inspiration.
• He will speak on Saturday, October 9 at 1.20pm at the War Memorial Hall.
