Damon Galgut Wins Esteemed Booker Prize and Becomes 3rd Local Author to Bag an International Award

• Acclaimed local author and playwright Damon Galgut has become the third South African to win the prestigious Booker Prize
• He walked away with R1 million for his novel, The Promise, which follows a white family during the end days of apartheid
• In his speech, Galgut said he hopes the award encourages people from around the world to take African writers more seriously

Esteemed South African author and playwright, Damon Galgut, won the Booker Prize on Wednesday, 3 November, for his novel The Promise. He walked away with £50 000, which is worth R1 million.

According to TimesLive, the novel is based on a white South African family during the end days of apartheid and focuses on their failed commitment to provide their black maid with her own home.

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The article went on to say that this was Galgut's third nomination for the prize but it is the first time he bagged it.

In his acceptance speech, the author said:

"It's changed my life and please know I am profoundly, humbly grateful for this. It's taken a long while to get here and now that I have, I kind-of feel that I shouldn't be here."

Galgut added that 2021 was a great year for African writer and he accepted the award "on behalf of all the stories told and untold".

In another article published by The Guardian, The Promise is the acclaimed author's ninth novel and he is now the third South African to win the exceptional prize, alongside JM Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer.

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The article added that Galgut grew up in Pretoria, where the novel is set, and described the main family as a mix of everything he grew up with in the Gauteng city.

Galgut, who wrote his first novel at the age of 17, hopes the award encourages people far and wide to "take African writing a little more seriously now".

The Da Vinci Institute in Gauteng set to honour the world’s youngest professor, 9-year-old Soborno Isaac Bari

In other news, Briefly News reported that a little nine-year-old professor will be awarded the Da Vinci Laureate: Social Architecture. Soborno Isaac Bari is the world's youngest professor and he is an Asian-American who specialises in maths and science.

The Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management is registered by the Department of Higher Education and Training. The award honours those who made a significant contribution towards transforming society and demonstrated a passion for developing diverse communities.

Source: Briefly News