BOOKER Prize winner Douglas Stuart has been awarded an honorary degree from Heriot-Watt University for his services to fashion and literature.
The author is one of only two Scots to win the the prestigious literary prize for his 2020 novel Shuggie Bain.
The celebrated author returned to his alma mater yesterday where the Chancellor of the university, Professor Sir Geoff Palmer, presented him with the academic title of Doctor of the University.
The Glaswegian graduated from Heriot-Watt with a BA Honours in Textiles in 1998 and was awarded the coveted Watt Club Medal for his academic achievement.
After his studies, Douglas moved to New York where he worked as a senior designer for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, before becoming the Head of Design at Gap Inc and then later at Kate Spade.
Released in August 2020, Shuggie Bain has been a finalist for more than 20 international literary awards, including the National Book Award, The Pen Hemingway Award, The Orwell Prize and the Andrew Carnegie Medal and will see the Scots vernacular translated into 39 languages. His next novel, Young Mungo, will be published in April 2022.
Stuart said: “Higher education transformed everything for me. It opened up possibilities that I would never have dreamt were possible.
“My time studying at the Galashiels campus gave me all the skills I carry with me in life. I will be forever grateful to the educators at Heriot Watt who noticed my potential.”
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