The air in London’s Old Billingsgate was thick with anticipation, but for David Szalay, the night held a particular, personal tension. His novel, Flesh , felt “quite a risky novel,” he would later confess, a feeling that permeated everything from its stark prose to its blunt, bodily title. So when 1993 winner Roddy Doyle took the stage to announce the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize, Szalay was simply another author in the crowd, hoping his gamble had paid off.

Then came the words: “The winner of the 2025 Booker Prize is Flesh .”

The announcement crowned Szalay, the Hungarian-British author, as the laureate for his sixth work of fiction, making him the first writer of his heritage to win the prestigious award. The win marks a triumphant return to the Booker shortlist for Szalay, who

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