The Shortlist for the Booker Prize 2025 Has Been Announced

The finalists for the Booker Prize 2025 have been announced! These six novels include three authors shortlisted for the prize for the first time, as well as a previous Booker Prize winner.

The Booker Prize honors the best work of fiction written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland annually. It began in 1969 and has become an honor that can catapult a book and author’s career. The winner of the Booker Prize takes home £50,000, or about $67,000 USD.

Five judges comprise the panel that determines the finalists. They include authors, publishers, journalists, politicians, artists, and more. Books published between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, are eligible, and this time frame starts to hint at the kinds of books we might begin to see making “best of” and other honor lists throughout the rest of the year.

The finalists include authors from three continents representing four nationalities. Their stories take place in Hungary, Japan, Italy, the United States, India, and England. The shortest book on the shortlist is under 200 pages, while the longest is over 700.