By Melanie Eversley

Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature Thursday for his “ … uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents,” according to the Nobel academy in Stockholm, Sweden.

Gurnah grew up in Zanzibar, an island off the East Coast of Africa, but later moved to the United Kingdom as a refugee. The theme of the refugee experience is woven heavily through the 10 novels Gurnah has published. 

The author took to Twitter to express his gratitude, writing, “Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!” to the Nobel Prize judges and tweeting to his fans: “I dedicate this Nobel Prize to Africa and Africans and to all my readers. Thanks!