Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker said that finalising a shortlist for the 2025 Booker Prize was “real agony” and there was “nothing casual” about letting a book go.
The Hollywood star, 60, who launched her own imprint, SJP Lit, with the indie publisher Zando, was among five judges who made up this year’s panel for the acclaimed literary prize.
Speaking about the shortlisting process, Parker said: “I think we all came to that meeting with a certain amount of worry about how we would take care of these authors and that we knew we could only have six. It’s real agony. There’s nothing casual about letting a book go. I think there was a sadness after this meeting, like genuine sadness about losing the opportunity to talk publicly about books that we thought were not just worthwhile but important. It was loss.”
The shortlist, chosen from a longlist of 13 titles and comprising British, Indian and American authors, was revealed on Tuesday.
The majority of these authors have written at least five books. There are some familiar faces returning to the shortlist, including previous Booker winner Kiran Desai with The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny.
Desai spent almost two decades writing her 700-page book. It is the longest book on this year’s shortlist, and follows the love story of two young people as they find their way back to each other.
Past shortlistees also made the cut. British-Hungarian writer David Szalay, who made the shortlist in 2016 with All That Man Is, returns with Flesh, a novel about a man and his class ascent as he makes his way from his isolated life in Hungary to London’s elite.
Andrew Miller made the shortlist in 2001 for Oxygen and was selected by the 2025 panel for The Land in Winter, a novel centred on tensions within two marriages in a backdrop of the dramatic 1962 winter in the West Country.
Three authors made their Booker Prize shortlist debut. Susan Choi was chosen for Flashlight, which follows 10-year old Louisa and her family in the aftermath of her father’s disappearance.
Katie Kitamura’s Audition is about how an actress’s life is turned upside down after she meets a young, troubling man for lunch.
The Rest Of Our Lives by Ben Markovits completes the list with his novel about getting older and the challenges of long-term marriage.
The six books were selected by the judging panel, which included Parker along with writer and 1993 Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, the first winner to chair a Booker judging panel.
Booker-longlisted novelist Ayobami Adebayo was also a judge along with writer and literary critic Chris Power and Booker-longlisted author Kiley Reid.
Speaking about the panel, Parker said: “I think the other thing that I feel everybody brought was just the love for books, like really, truly. I think we all brought just the excitement and this kind of hope and the promise.
“Just the privilege, I can’t even describe adequately what it feels like to have an author’s book in your hand, sometimes a very, very highly regarded, established author whose book is not out yet and you know that you would be the envy of everybody if they knew that you were holding this book, and you got to read it, early, and you got to talk about it with people who are so learned and themselves such extraordinary writers.”
This year’s selection is described by Doyle as “brilliantly human” with a focus on the ties that bind families together and how characters navigate domestic situations.
The shortlisted books transport readers around the world, from Hungary to Japan, Italy, the US, India and England, with storylines that span a few days to decades.
Doyle echoed similar sentiments to Parker, describing a sense of guilt when selecting the shortlisted books. “The six have, I think, two big things in common. Their authors are in total command of their own store of English, their own rhythm, their own expertise; they have each crafted a novel that no-one else could have written,” he said.
“All of the books, in six different and very fresh ways, find their stories in the examination of the individual trying to live with – to love, to seek attention from, to cope with, to understand, to keep at bay, to tolerate, to escape from – other people. In other words, they are all brilliantly written and they are all brilliantly human.”
The Booker Prize 2025 ceremony will take place on 10 November in London and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 arts programme, Front Row, at 9.30pm.
It will also be livestreamed on the Booker Prize social channels.
The winner will receive £50,000 and a trophy named Iris, after the 1978 winner Iris Murdoch.
Last year, British author Samantha Harvey claimed the winning title and became the first woman since 2019 to win the prize.
Booker Prize shortlist comprises ‘brilliantly written and brilliantly human’ stories
Twilight author confirms she has ‘other stories outlined’ for vampire series
Stephen King apologizes for claiming Charlie Kirk ‘advocated stoning gays to death’
Jane Austen superfans to visit city to celebrate author’s birthday
DC Comics cancels Batman spinoff Red Hood after writer’s posts on Charlie Kirk
George RR Martin shares bittersweet post after attending Worldcon
