Vaseem Khan wrote one of this year’s new Quick Reads because he is passionate about helping people to read so they can improve their lives.

There’s a world of difference between Newham, east London, where author Vaseem Khan grew up, and the Mumbai home of his best-selling books about the Baby Ganesh Detective Agency.

But one thing they have in common is the large numbers of people who could improve their lives by developing their reading skills – something Vaseem knows all about first-hand, having lived in both places.

That’s why he agreed to write a Quick Reads book for the 2018 list, a specially written novella featuring his famous Inspector Chopra and sidekick baby elephant.

Inspector Chopra and the Million-Dollar Motor Car is set in the bustling backstreets of Mumbai, where the detective and his four-legged friend have two days to solve the mystery of a missing car for its gangster owner.

Vaseem believes education is a fundamental human right – wherever you live in the world.

And he credits reading for giving him the opportunity to become the writer he is today. His father was illiterate and worked in a bakery for 40-plus years, while his mother was never interested in literature. But they were determined to give their son the education he wanted and he successfully studied at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Vaseem then went to India where he worked as a management consultant for 10 years, storing up a wealth of knowledge of Mumbai, which would form the basis of his novels.

When he returned to work in the UK, he became involved in helping at schools and libraries, witnessing first-hand the issues of literacy and struggles of people, including those whose first language is not English and whose daily battles mean reading is not a priority. Vaseem also saw that the school system in his borough was struggling with a lack of resources and disengaged youngsters.

Having amassed 200 rejection letters from publishers since he started writing at the age of 17, Vaseem had no illusions about getting published when he decided to write down the story of his adventures in the form of a journey to the heart of modern India.

So no one was more shocked than himself when publishing giant Hodder signed him up to a four-book deal for the Inspector Chopra books, which has led to global success (the books have been translated into 11 languages) as well as numerous celebrity shoulder-rubbing appearances on news and chat shows and book panels.

Having witnessed poverty and sickness of impossible magnitude in Mumbai, Vaseem explains that his plan was to write novels with a social heart – crime mysteries with a humorous, feel-good vibe, which is how the curious partnership of Inspector Chopra and baby elephant Ganesh came about.

Vaseem said:

Some of my childhood dreams have been fulfilled for me and reading is the foundation of every good thing that happened in my life.”

My dad was illiterate, mum didn’t believe in fiction. It was rough – reading was an escape for me and the foundation to education.”

It’s something he is keen to share, explaining that, with rise of the internet, people now have access to anything so long as they can read just a little.

Human beings have been storytellers for thousands of years but not everyone is comfortable with the written word, so if we can find a way to make those stories easier for people to read it is giving them the tools to fundamentally change their lives. It’s why I wanted to write a Quick Read.”

As well as the launch of the Quick Read novella, 2018 will mean more Inspector Chopra for Vaseem – he’s just been commissioned to write another two books in the series – and he has agreed to a tour of prisons that will see him spreading the message and encouraging some of the hardest-to-reach groups of people to read and gain the chance to improve their lives.

I’m really passionate about doing this – reading has changed my life. If I didn’t have the background of reading I would not have been able to do the job I do. For me it’s a great privilege to be allowed to help and change people’s lives by helping them read a bit better.”

This case study first appeared in the Learning Rep – the full magazine can be downloaded here.