Glasgow-born author Douglas Stuart has made literary history by becoming the first writer to win the Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year award twice.
His latest novel, John of John, has claimed the honour six years after his debut, Shuggie Bain, won the same prize in 2020.
The announcement comes just days before Stuart discovers whether he has won the prestigious Booker Prize for a second time, with the winner due to be revealed on Monday.
John of John, his third novel, moves away from the Glasgow streets that provided the backdrop to his first two books to tell a story of family, faith and sexuality in the Outer Hebrides.
Set on the Isle of Harris in the late 1990s, it follows John-Calum Macleod, a young gay man who returns home after studying art in Edinburgh.
Back on the family croft, Cal finds himself struggling with the expectations of his deeply religious father, a sheep farmer and weaver, while helping to care for his grandmother.
The novel explores the tensions between generations and the secrets that shape life in a close-knit island community.
Stuart said: “There is no shortage of fine Scottish fiction and so I am both deeply honoured and totally delighted.”
He added that recognition from Scottish booksellers made the award especially meaningful.
Angela MacRae, Waterstones Scottish Buyer, described the novel as a moving exploration of isolation, repression and family relationships in a beautiful but unforgiving landscape.
She called the book “frankly a masterpiece” and welcomed Stuart’s achievement in becoming the first writer to win the Scottish award twice.
Toby Ritty, who oversees Waterstones stores across the north of Scotland and Fife, said the novel’s tenderness and compassion confirmed Stuart’s standing among Scotland’s leading contemporary writers.
The award, now in its 12th year, celebrates books written by Scottish-based authors or works with a strong Scottish setting.
Stuart’s success marks another milestone in an extraordinary literary career.
Born and raised in Glasgow, he studied at the Royal College of Art before moving to New York, where he worked as a fashion designer.
His debut novel, Shuggie Bain, was inspired by his childhood in Glasgow during the 1980s and explored the relationship between a young boy and his mother as she struggled with alcoholism.
The manuscript was rejected by around 30 editors before finding a publisher. It went on to win the 2020 Booker Prize and was named Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.
His follow-up, Young Mungo, published in 2022, returned to working-class Glasgow for a story of forbidden love between two teenage boys from different religious backgrounds.
John of John has already attracted international attention, including being selected for Oprah Winfrey’s influential book club earlier this year.
It is also among 20 titles shortlisted for the overall Waterstones Book of the Year award, alongside books by Maggie O’Farrell and Talking Heads musician David Byrne.
That winner will be announced on Thursday, 26 November.
First, Stuart will find out on Monday whether John of John can repeat the Booker Prize triumph of Shuggie Bain.
Only four writers have won the Booker Prize twice. A second victory would place Stuart alongside Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel, Peter Carey and JM Coetzee.