Shuggie Bain wins 2020 Booker Prize
NEW YORK-based Scottish writer Douglas Stuart has won the prestigious £50,000 Booker Prize for his autobiographical debut novel Shuggie Bain, a coming of age tale of love and alcoholism set in 1980s Glasgow and ‘destined to be a classic’, beating five other shortlisted authors including Indian-origin Avni Doshi.
Stuart, 44, dedicated the book to his mother, who died of alcoholism when he was 16-years-old. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in London, he moved to New York to start a career in fashion design.
‘I cannot believe this. Shuggie is a work of fiction but writing the book was extremely healing for me; hugely cathartic,’ Stuart said, adding that he was ‘absolutely stunned’ to win the coveted prize.
‘I always wanted to be a writer so this is fulfilling a dream. This has changed my entire life,’ he said in his acceptance speech on Thursday.
Stuart has worked for various brands, including Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Gap. He started writing in his spare time a decade ago. Dubaibased Indian-origin writer Doshi, who was shortlisted among the final six authors for her debut novel Burnt Sugar, lost out on the top prize.
A MUMBAI court on Sunday remanded comedian Bharti Singh and husband Harsh Limbachiya, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau following seizure of drugs from their house here, to judicial custody till December 4. The court will hear their bail pleas on Monday.
The NCB arrested Singh on Saturday and her husband early Sunday morning following seizure of ganja (cannabis) from their house in suburban Andheri. The couple was produced before a magistrates court here Sunday afternoon.
‘The court has remanded both the accused to judicial custody till December 4,’ NCB prosecutor Atul Sarpande told.
The couple filed bail pleas soon after being remanded to judicial custody. The magistrates court would hear the bail pleas on Monday.
NCB recovered 86.5 gm ganja during the search. This is considered as ‘small quantity’ under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, an official said.
Acting on a tip-off, the NCB on Saturday conducted search at Singh’s office and residence as part of its probe into the alleged drug use in the entertainment industry.
Up to 1,000 gm of ganja is considered small quantity, which attracts jail term up to six months and/or fine of Rs 10,000. Possession of commercial quantity 20 kg or more can attract up to 20 years in jail. For the quantity in between, the punishment can be as much as 10 years in jail.
‘Singh’s name had cropped up during the interrogation of a drug peddler,’ the official said.
She has appeared in a number of comedy and reality shows on TV and also hosted a few such shows.