Booker Prize 2025: All shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book.
London: Hungarian-British author David Szelé was awarded the prestigious 2025 Booker Prize for his novel ‘Flesh’ at a ceremony in London on Monday night. The 51-year-old author received a trophy and a cash prize of £50,000, presented to him by last year’s winner, Samantha Harvey.
Szelé’s winning novel, ‘Flesh’, tells the story of a man emotionally shattered by life, whose world is transformed by a series of unexpected events. The judging panel described the book as a “deceptively simple yet profoundly deep, tense, and emotionally shattering story.”
Kiran Desai Places as a Finalist
Indian-origin author Kiran Desai was shortlisted for the prize this year with her book ‘Sonia and Sanny’s Loneliness’. Had she won, she would have become only the fifth author in the Booker Prize’s 56-year history to win the award twice, having previously won in 2006 for ‘The Inheritance of Loss’.
Basis of ‘Sonia and Sanny’s Loneliness’
Desai’s new book is a sprawling, 667-page narrative set against the backdrops of India and America, exploring the lives and loves of two Indian youths, Sonia and Sanny. The judges praised it as a “remarkable fusion of love, family, tradition, and modernity.”
Rody Doyle, the Irish author and chair of the 2025 Booker Prize judging committee, commented that ‘Flesh’ was a “distinctly different kind of book.” He added, “It’s a somewhat dark story, but a joy to read.”
The Full Shortlist
The other titles shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize were:
- Susan Choi (‘Flashlight’)
- Katie Kitamura (‘Audition’)
- Ben Markovits (‘The Rest of Our Lives’)
- Andrew Miller (‘The Land in Winter’)
All shortlisted authors each receive £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book.
The judges noted that all six shortlisted books this year “uniquely explore human emotions, relationships, and the complexities of society,” with each author telling their story with “complete originality and beauty.”
