ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
David Szalay’s ‘Flesh’ wins Booker Prize 2025
Szalay received the £50,000 award at a ceremony in London on Nov. 10.
-
1759953093.png)
Staff Reporter - Tue, 11, Nov 2025
- 16:17 EST
- 15
David Szalay, author of Flesh, attends the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist readings event at Southbank Centre in London / . Photo: David Parry for Booker Prize Foundation
Hungarian-British author David Szalay won the Booker Prize 2025 on the night of Nov. 10 at Old Billingsgate for his novel ‘Flesh,’ marking his first Booker win after a previous shortlist appearance in 2016.
He received the £50,000 award and the Booker trophy from last year’s winner, Samantha Harvey, at a ceremony attended by writers, broadcasters, and cultural figures.
Also Read: Granta’s latest issue turns its gaze to Modi’s India
The judging panel deliberated for more than five hours before selecting ‘Flesh’ as the winning work. Chair of the judges Roddy Doyle called the novel an “extraordinary, singular” work that is “a dark book but a joy to read,” praising its restrained, minimalist style and its ability to communicate meaning through silence and absence.
Szalay, now the first Hungarian-British author to win the Booker Prize, said he set out to write about “life as a physical experience… what it’s like to be a living body in the world.” He has lived in Lebanon, the UK, and Hungary and said that the sense of being an outsider in each place shaped the novel’s cross-border perspective.
‘Flesh’ follows István, a teenager growing up in a Hungarian housing estate, whose life is shaped by secrecy, trauma, and chance encounters. Over the decades, the narrative takes him from the Hungarian army to London’s wealthy elite, tracing how ambition, intimacy, and class mobility intersect with loss and emotional restraint.
Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, said the judges returned to Flesh “again and again” during their nine-month reading process and “felt more invested in it every time.” She described the novel as “spare, disciplined, urgent, honest, and heartbreaking.”
The ceremony featured screenings of filmed readings from each shortlisted book. An extract from ‘Flesh,’ performed by musician Stormzy, was shown to the audience, underscoring the Booker’s expanding digital and cross-medium presentation.
This year's shortlist included works by Susan Choi, Kiran Desai, Katie Kitamura, Ben Markovits, and Andrew Miller, selected from 153 eligible titles published between Oct. 2024 and Sept. 2025.
Szalay’s win is expected to produce the typical “Booker effect,” with increased visibility, global demand, and a spike in sales. Last year's winner, Orbital, recorded the fastest post-win sales growth since data has been tracked.
Szalay’s first public event as the newly crowned winner will take place in Newcastle later this week.
Previously, Indian-origin author Kiran Desai was also shortlisted for her novel The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, which explores themes of migration and identity across India and the United States.
Related
.jpg)
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login