Celebrating Extraordinary Storytelling with Our Booker Prize Award Winners

The Booker Prize awards recently took place, celebrating the best incontemporary literature, and once again, a Penguin Random Houseauthor took home the coveted prize. David Szalay’s Flesh, a “spare andpenetrating novel”, follows István from shy adolescence in a Hungarianapartment block to the heights of the army and London’s elite. It exploreslove, ambition, and the fragility of life. This marks the fifth PRH author towin the award in seven years with remarkable books such as SamanthaHarvey’s Orbital (2024), Damon Galgut’s The Promise (2021), MargaretAtwood’s The Testaments and Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other;novels that highlight the extraordinary breadth of contemporary storytelling.

David Szalay

Fifteen-year-old István, shy and isolated in a Hungarian apartment complex, forms a confusing, secretive bond with a neighbour. Over the years, he rises through the army and London’s elite, pursuing love, wealth, and status, until his ambitions threaten to undo him. Spare and penetrating, Flesh is a masterful exploration of what makes life worth living—and what can break it.

Samantha Harvey

Life on Earth like never before: aboard the International Space Station, astronauts observe our planet’s beauty—glaciers, deserts, oceans—while conducting experiments and testing limits. Yet distance brings perspective: news of loss and looming storms reminds them of humanity’s fragility. Far from home, they reflect on life, love, and the deep, inseparable bond between Earth and those who inhabit it.

Damon Galgut

The Swart family seems ordinary, like any other white South African family, yet their story unfolds in The Promise through four funerals across decades. Amid changing presidents and shifting times, they squabble over a worthless farm outside Pretoria, while a brother and sister grapple with a long-forgotten promise that shapes their lives.

Margaret Atwood

The Republic of Gilead is unraveling. Two girls with very different experiences of the regime confront the formidable Aunt Lydia, testing their beliefs and limits. This edition includes book club discussion points and an interview with Margaret Atwood on the real-life events that inspired The Testaments and The Handmaid’s Tale. Historic joint winner with Bernardine Evaristo.

2019

Bernardine Evaristo

Teeming with energy, humour, and heart, Bernardine Evaristo’s novel is a love song to Black Britain. Through twelve vibrant characters—Grace, Winsome, Amma, Morgan, and more—spanning over a century, she paints a sweeping portrait of contemporary Britain, celebrating change, resilience, and joy in a story that is dynamic, unforgettable, and utterly irresistible. Historic joint winner with Margaret Atwood.