David Szalay wins Booker Prize 2025 for Flesh, hailed by judges as a rare novel about men and meaning

Highlights:

• British-Hungarian writer takes home £50,000 (₹58.4 lakh) for Flesh
• Kiran Desai and Andrew Miller among shortlisted names
• Judges call it “dark but a joy to read”
• Sarah Jessica Parker part of the judging panel
• All six shortlisted writers get £2,500 each and a special bound copy of their book.

David Szalay, the British-Hungarian author, has won the 2025 Booker Prize for Flesh. The book follows a Hungarian émigré who makes and loses a fortune, told in Szalay’s trademark sparse prose.

The prize £50,000 (around ₹58.4 lakh) was announced Monday night at Old Billingsgate in London. Last year’s winner Samantha Harvey handed him the trophy. Szalay looked calm on stage, detached, even. He’s been here before when he was shortlisted in 2016 for All That Man Is.

David Szalay wins the 2025 Booker Prize in London for his novel Flesh Getty Images

Why Booker Prize 2025 mattered for David Szalay

This win tightens Szalay’s place as a writer who returns to similar territory: flawed men, difficult choices, small violence. Flesh traces a Hungarian immigrant from military service to the moneyed corners of London, with moments of violence, guilt and quiet collapse.

Chair Roddy Doyle described Flesh as “singular” and “extraordinary.” “We had never read anything quite like it. It’s a dark book, but it’s a joy to read,” he said.

Flesh explores the rise and fall of a Hungarian émigré chasing fortune and meaningGetty Images

Judges and a headline-making shortlist

This year’s panel was a mix you wouldn’t expect. Sarah Jessica Parker sat beside writers Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Kiley Reid and critic Chris Power. They read 153 novels and one kept coming back to the table: Flesh.

Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny and Andrew Miller’s The Land in Winter were seen as strong contenders. The other shortlisted titles were Flashlight by Susan Choi, Audition by Katie Kitamura and The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits.

Booker Prize 2025 winner David Szalay, author of "Flesh" with Gaby Wood and judges Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Power, Ayobami Adebayo, Kiley Reid and Chair of the judging panel Roddy Doyle during The Booker Prize 2025 Ceremony Getty Images

What inspired Flesh

Szalay told the Booker organisers he wanted a book that “began with Hungary, ended with England” and reflected the cultural and economic divides shaping contemporary Europe. He said writing about a Hungarian immigrant at the time Hungary joined the EU felt like an obvious route.

David Szalay, author of "Flesh" receives the award from Samantha Harvey onstage during The Booker Prize 2025 Ceremony Getty Images

A moment that came full circle

Born in Montreal, raised in London and now based in Vienna, Szalay has written six novels so far. He’s never been one for the spotlight. But on Monday night, Flesh put him firmly at the centre of it.

(With input from agencies)