The literary world is holding its breath as the prestigious 2025 Booker Prize prepares to crown its winner in a dramatic face-off between Indian literary star Kiran Desai and British novelist Andrew Miller. The award ceremony, set for Monday in London, has bookmakers and readers alike divided over which author will claim the coveted £50,000 prize.
The Front-Runners: A Tale of Two Contenders
According to leading UK bookmaker William Hill, Andrew Miller currently leads the race with odds of 15-8 for his novel The Land in Winter. The 64-year-old British author brings a haunting story of love, secrets, and human endurance set against the backdrop of rural England during the brutal winter of 1962-63. This marks Miller's second opportunity for Booker glory after being shortlisted in 2001 for his novel Oxygen.
Close on his heels is Indian author Kiran Desai with odds of 2-1 for her monumental work The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. The 54-year-old writer has made a spectacular return after nearly two decades with this sweeping 700-page novel that follows two young Indians navigating belonging and meaning in America at the turn of the millennium. A victory for Desai would place her among literary royalty as only the fifth writer ever to win the Booker Prize twice, joining the esteemed company of J.M. Coetzee, Peter Carey, Margaret Atwood, and Hilary Mantel.
The Complete Shortlist and Prize Details
This year's competition features six exceptional authors selected from an impressive 153 submissions. The shortlist represents a diverse range of literary voices and includes:
- David Szalay (Hungarian-British) for Flesh
- Susan Choi (American) for Flashlight
- Katie Kitamura (American) for Audition
- Ben Markovits (American) for The Rest of Our Lives
All competing novels were English-language works of fiction published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. Each shortlisted author will receive £2,500 (approximately ₹2.6 lakh) along with a specially bound edition of their book and the invaluable gift of international recognition that often transforms literary careers.
Judging Panel and Historical Significance
The responsibility of selecting this year's winner falls to a distinguished six-member judging panel led by Irish novelist and former Booker winner Roddy Doyle, acclaimed for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. The panel also includes actress and literary enthusiast Sarah Jessica Parker, adding Hollywood glamour to the proceedings.
Since its establishment in 1969, the Booker Prize has consistently shaped literary history, celebrating authors ranging from Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy to Ian McEwan and last year's winner Samantha Harvey for her space-station novel Orbital.
The prize has evolved significantly over the decades. Originally restricted to authors from the UK, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations, it expanded in 2014 to include American writers despite initial concerns about potential US dominance. This year's shortlist reflects this global perspective, with three of the six finalists—Choi, Kitamura, and Markovits—being American authors, while Desai, though Indian-born, has long resided in New York.
As London prepares to host the literary event of the year, all eyes remain fixed on whether Kiran Desai will make history as only the fifth double-Booker winner or if Andrew Miller will claim the prize that narrowly escaped him 24 years ago.
