Hungarian-British author David Szalay poses for photographers with the trophy after winning the Booker Prize 2025 for his book 'Flesh' during a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London, November 10, 2025. KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH / AP
British-Hungarian writer David Szalay won the Booker Prize on Monday, November 10, for his novel Flesh, a tortured story of a Hungarian emigré who makes and loses a fortune. Szalay beat five other shortlisted authors, including Indian novelist Kiran Desai, who won in 2006, and Britain's Andrew Miller, to claim the £50,000 ($65,500) award at a ceremony in London.
Szalay had previously been shortlisted for the prestigious literary honor in 2016 for his last work, All That Man Is. His sixth novel, Flesh is another unflattering exploration of masculinity, using sparse prose to track the Hungarian protagonist from military service in his home country to working for the ultra-wealthy in London. His tormented life includes affairs with older women and fighting in Iraq.
The five judges considered 135 books to crown one the best work of long-form fiction written in English and published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025.
Among the six shortlisted works, one kept dominating the conversation, according to chair of the judges Roddy Doyle. He called Flesh a "singular" and "extraordinary" novel. "We had never read anything quite like it. It is, in many ways, a dark book but it is a joy to read," said Doyle, a writer and winner of the 1993 Booker Prize. The judging panel also included Sex and the City actor Sarah Jessica Parker alongside authors Ayobami Adebayo and Kiley Reid as well as critic and writer Chris Power.
