It’s third time lucky for Damon Galgut as, after being shortlisted in 2003 and 2010, he finally wins the Booker Prize with The Promise.
The announcement was made by Maya Jasanoff, chair of the 2021 judges, in a ceremony that was broadcast live to a global audience of millions by the BBC. The Promise is set in South Africa during the country’s transition out of apartheid, and explores the interconnected relationships between the members of a diminishing white family through the sequential lens of four funerals.
The Promise is Galgut’s ninth novel and first in seven years; his debut was published when he was just seventeen.
Winner The Booker Prize 2021
I'd like to accept this on behalf of all the stories told and untold, the writers heard and unheard, from the remarkable continent I'm part of. Please keep listening to us, there's a lot more to come
— Damon Galgut accepting the Booker Prize 2021, November 3 2021
The number of novels, including The Promise, written by Damon Galgut
Years between Arctic Summer, Damon Galgut’s previous novel, and The Promise
Damon Galgut’s age when his first novel was published
Number of times Damon Galgut has been shortlisted for the Booker (2003, 2010, 2021)
The specially bound edition of A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam was created by Tom McEwan.
© David Parry/PAThe specially bound edition of Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead was created by Sue Doggett.
© David Parry/PAThe specially bound edition of No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood was created by Mark Cockram.
© David Parry/PAThe specially bound edition of The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed was created by Stephen Conway.
© David Parry/PAThe specially bound edition of Bewilderment by Richard Powers was created by Glenn Bartley.
© David Parry/PAThe specially bound edition of The Promise by Damon Galgut was created by Kate Holland.
© David Parry/PAThe ultimate prize to win in the English speaking world
