From a global tour to reconnecting with long-lost friends, the author of The Promise explains how winning the Booker Prize in 2021 changed his life
Damon Galgut
- Born
Damon Galgut has been shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize and won in 2021 for his ninth book, The Promise. He is a South African playwright and novelist, who wrote his first novel aged 17
Galgut is a multi-award-winning author, and two films have been made of his book The Quarry. He grew up in Pretoria, where The Promise is set, and now lives in Cape Town. When asked why he became a writer, he reveals he had lymphoma as a child, during which time he ‘learned to associate books and stories with a certain kind of attention and comfort’. He is currently working on a collection of short stories.
The original idea came from a conversation with a friend, who’s the last surviving member of his family
9
The number of novels, including The Promise, written by Damon Galgut
7
Years between Arctic Summer, Damon Galgut’s previous novel, and The Promise
17
Damon Galgut’s age when his first novel was published
3
Number of times Damon Galgut has been shortlisted for the Booker (2003, 2010, 2021)
Video highlights
The Promise
Winner of The Booker Prize 2021
- By
- Damon Galgut
- Published by
- Chatto & Windus
Brutal emotional truths hit home in Damon Galgut’s deft, powerful story of a diminished family and a troubled land
Other nominated books
Damon Galgut’s powerful tale of an unlikely friendship in an uneasy time, set in a dilapidated rural hospital in post-apartheid South Africa
Damon Galgut’s haunting evocation of one man’s search for love and a place to call home - a novel of longing and thwarted desire, rage and compassion
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- First person
Damon Galgut on James Kelman's How late It Was, How Late
- Information