Today, at a ceremony in London, David Szalay was awarded the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel, Flesh. The judges called it “a disquisition on the art of being alive, and all the affliction that comes along with it, but it is also an absolute page-turner. It’s nearly impossible to put down. The emotional detachment of the main character, István, is sustained by the tremendous movement of the plot. The pace of this novel speaks to one of the greater themes; the detachment of our bodies from our decisions.”

Flesh was selected from a shortlist of 6, ultimately whittled down from a starting pool of 153 books, all written in English and published between October 2024 and September 2025.

This year’s judges were Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Chris Power, Kiley Reid, Roddy Doyle (Chair) and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Szalay will be awarded £50,000, on top of the resultant sales and bragging rights.