Gnanalingam was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Lower Hutt. His debut novel Getting Under Sail was published by Lawrence and Gibson in 2011. The novel was based on a trip Gnanalingam undertook with two friends from Morocco to Ghana, which included being mistakenly detained for the French tourist killings in Mauritania.Gnanalingam, Brannavan (2011) 'Mali and Me' NZ Listener http://www.listener.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/mali-and-me/ The book was praised for "the narrator’s wry honesty, miles away from the usual Africa travelogue clichés".Finnermore, Sam (2011) 'Privatising Parts by Richard Meros and Getting Under Sail by Brannavan Gnanalingam review' [Listener] http://www.listener.co.nz/culture/books/privatising-parts-by-richard-meros-and-getting-under-sail-by-brannavan-gnanalingam-review/ In 2013 his second novel You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here was published and received positive reviews in New Zealand.Dennerstein, Natasha (2014) 'Book review: You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here, by Brannavan Gnanalingam' NZ Listener 30 January. http://www.listener.co.nz/culture/books/book-review-you-should-have-come-here-when-you-were-not-here-by-brannavan-gnanalingam/ Treloar, Abbie (2013) Review BooksellersNZ https://booksellersnz.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/book-review-you-should-have-come-when-you-were-not-here-by-brannavan-gnanalingam/ The book follows a trip by a middle-aged woman to Paris, who instead of finding it the city of love, experiences it as a cold and disorienting place. The book was based on Gnanalingam's time spent in Paris between 2012 and 2013. His third novel, Credit in the Straight World (2015), his first set in New Zealand, is "a satirical account of the global financial crisis" described by the New Zealand Herald as a "tale of surreal humour and genuine insight". His fourth novel, A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse (2016), was longlisted for the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards novel of the year.'Ockham 2017 Book Awards long-list revealed' Stuff http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/86710998/2017-ockham-nz-book-awards-longlist-revealed
