It’s official — Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape) has won the Booker Prize 2025, and the Bookies are here to react!

Aaron, Colin, Lucy & Hannah unpack the result — with Aaron diving deeper into the novel after his re-read and celebrating becoming the first host to successfully predict the Booker winner (from the two shortlists we’ve covered so far!).

We also hear from Bob the Bookerer, who shares his reaction to the win and thoughts on the Booker’s choice this year.

🎧 Missed our full in-depth review of Flesh?
👉 Listen here

📚 What’s Next for the Bookies

The team discuss what’s coming up next — including more literary prize lists, shortlisted reads, and award-winning novels. We want to know what you want us to cover next, so send us your suggestions!

📩 Get in touch via Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub) or email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

🌊 Returning Soon: Eden’s Shore Read-Along

Lucy & Aaron will soon be wrapping up their chapter-by-chapter read-along of Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan, including the final chapters and a special interview with the author himself!

🏅 Introducing… The Bookies’ Favourites!

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our very own award show, The Bookies’ Favourites — celebrating our picks for the best books we’ve read this year. More details coming soon!

**This episode was recorded before Flesh was announced as the Booker Prize 2025 winner***

We’re onto book five of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlist with Flesh by David Szalay — a look at how others can influence our lives and define the relationships we form.

📅 Coming Up Next

Next week: our final shortlisted title, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton). 🌙

💬 Get Involved

📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads

It’s time for our Booker Prize 2025 finale predictions! The Bookies sit down to rank all six shortlisted books, share their personal winner picks, and look at the bookies’ odds to see who the experts think will take home this year’s prize.

We’re also joined (in spirit!) by some returning friends of the podcast:
📚 @bobthebookerer
📖 @dymphnaflynn
📘 @afewofchifavoritethings
💡 Plus, Maddi from @bookswithmaddi shares her Audition theory!

📚 The 2025 Booker Prize Shortlist

Here’s the full shortlist, in the order we covered them on the podcast:

1️⃣ Audition by Katie Kitamura — Fern Press
 🎧 Listen to our episode on Audition
 💬 Featured Bookie: @bobthebookerer

2️⃣ The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller — Sceptre
 🎧 Listen to our episode on The Land in Winter

3️⃣ Flashlight by Susan Choi — Jonathan Cape
 🎧 Listen to our episode on Flashlight
 📱 Aaron hasn’t read this one yet, but will be posting his reaction on social media before the winner is announced.

4️⃣ The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits — Faber
 🎧 Listen to our episode on The Rest of Our Lives
 💬 Featured Bookie: @dymphnaflynn

5️⃣ Flesh by David Szalay — Jonathan Cape
 🎧 Listen to our episode on Flesh

6️⃣ The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny by Kiran Desai — Hamish Hamilton
 🎧 Listen to our episode on The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny
 📖 Colin hasn’t yet read this one.

🗣️ Share Your Reaction!

The winner is announced on Monday, and we want to hear your thoughts!
📸 Instagram (@bookiesfavouritebookclub)
📩 bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com
📖 Read our written reviews on Goodreads