Honorary degree for Booker winner Stuart

HERIOT WATT University bestowed an honorary degree on the Booker prize-winning author, Douglas Stuart.

Stuart studied at the university, achieving a BA Honours in Textiles in 1998. He used his learning during his first career in fashion, working 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.

His debut novel, Shuggie Bain, became a best-seller and Stuart was only the second Scot to win the coveted Booker prize last year.

Shuggie Bain has also been a finalist for over twenty international literary awards, including the National Book Award, The Pen Hemingway Award, The Orwell Prize and the Andrew Carnegie Medal. The Scots vernacular will be translated into 39 languages. Stuart's second novel, Young Mungo, is to be published in the Spring.

Douglas said: “I am truly humbled to receive this recognition. 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, and allowed me to express myself in not one, but two creative fields. I will be forever grateful to the educators at Heriot Watt who noticed my potential, who believed in me when I didn't always believe in myself, and who guided me onwards when I was unsure of the path before me."