Australian author Bryce Courtenay dies of cancer

(AP) Australian best-selling author Bryce Courtenay has died of stomach cancer. He was 79.

His publisher Penguin Group said Friday that the South African-born writer died at his family home in the Australian capital Canberra late Thursday surrounded by his family and pets.

Courtenay had a successful career in advertising before writing his first novel, The Power of One, which was published in 1989 when he was 56. The story became a movie starring Morgan Freeman.

His 21st novel, Jack of Diamonds, was published this month.