Our Bureau
London
Award-winning British Indian musician Nitin Sawhney, known for musical scores including for a screen adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s 1981 Booker Prize-winning ‘Midnight’s Children’, was announced as a member of the 2024 Booker Prize judging panel.
“We are delighted to reveal the #BookerPrize2024 judging panel. Edmund de Waal will act as chair of judges and will be joined by Sara Collins (@mrsjaneymac), Justine Jordan (@justine_jordan), Yiyun Li and Nitin Sawhney (@thenitinsawhney)” the Booker Prizes wrote in a post on X. Sawhney said he was “honored to be a @TheBookerPrizes judge for 2024.”
In another post, he shared, “The thought of spending my insomnia hours buried in over 150 books over the next few months is a welcome one. The world seems to have lost its way as well as its humanity… I want to be reminded of beautiful minds and remember that words are not always toxic vessels of hate.”
Sawhney was born in Kent, south-eastern England and is recognised as a world-class producer, songwriter, touring artist, club DJ, multi-instrumentalist and composer for theatre, dance, videogames and orchestras. He has also composed for the screen adaptation of Booker-shortlisted novelist Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘The Namesake’ and most recently for Shekhar Kapur directed film ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’.
Sawhney’s latest album is titled ‘IDENTITY’ for Warner Music, that released in October 2023. He also celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the release of his first album titled ‘Spirit Dance’ in September 2023. He also performed a show at the world’s most famous stage, the Royal Albert Hall, in October.
“The recipient of the Ivor Novello 2017 Lifetime Achievement award, he has collaborated with other world-class artists of all kinds…He holds eight honorary doctorates from UK universities and sits on the boards of multiple charities, including Complicité,” notes the Booker Prize brief on the musician, whose latest album ‘Identity’ was released in October.
