Revealing the hand-bound editions of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted books

The full set of hand-bound editions of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted books

Revealing the hand-bound editions of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted books

Published: November 6, 2025

For over 30 years, Fellows from the Designer Bookbinders society have created unique hand-bound editions of each title on the Booker shortlist. Here, this year’s designers unveil their beautiful, bespoke books

One of the highlights of the annual Booker Prize season – and a tradition that has been in place for three decades – comes when each of the shortlisted authors is presented with a hand-bound edition of their nominated novel, created by Fellows from the Designer Bookbinders society.

These extraordinary, one-of-a-kind books are designed and made between the shortlist and winner announcements. Below, we meet the designers behind this year’s creations, which will be presented to the shortlisted authors at the prize ceremony on Monday, 10 November 2025.

Flashlight by Susan Choi, bound by Tom McEwan

‘Several elements in Flashlight influenced the binding’s design – displacement, fragmentation, exposure and trauma being key,’ says Tom McEwan.

‘The book’s recurring reference to illumination, or its absence, has an obvious influence on the design structure. The composition is an abstract representation of these themes, generated by manipulating diverging, tapering forms, combined with contrasting colour and texture over a vague, shadowed background.’

Hand-bound edition of Flashlight, photographed on windowsill — A bespoke edition of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted novel *Flashlight* by Susan Choi, hand-bound by Tom McEwan
© Indira Birnie for Booker Prize Foundation

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, bound by Sue Doggett

‘Looking back at my sketchbook, the very first words I wrote down were “everyone is haunted”,’ says Sue Doggett.

‘There are actual moments of haunting: the ghost hound (footprints in the sand, sunlight on the water – back cover), grandfather’s tobacco smoke at Cloud Cottage (silver threads – front cover)… and Badal Baba, the supernatural deity that is either protective or transformational and which is a constant presence throughout the story (sits in the mountain rain on the spine of the book in his black, red and bejewelled splendour and intertwined with Sonia as leopard).’

Hand-bound edition of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, photographed on a windowsill — A bespoke edition of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted novel *The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny* by Kiran Desai, hand-bound by Sue Doggett
© Indira Birnie for Booker Prize Foundation

Audition by Katie Kitamura, bound by Glenn Bartley

‘An unnamed actress meets a young man, Xavier, who claims to be her son, though she knows this to be impossible – she has never had a child,’ says Glenn Bartley.

‘The book is structured in two distinct parts representing two alternate realities, one contrasting the woman’s real childless life with an imagined, alternate reality where she has a son. Consequently, the abstract design on the front cover is as on the back cover but flipped. The angular shapes are representative of the psychological discord of the novel, with an incised segment “cutting through” each perceived reality.’

Hand-bound edition of Audition, photographed on a windowsill — A bespoke edition of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted novel *Audition* by Katie Kitamura, hand-bound by Glenn Bartley
© Indira Birnie for Booker Prize Foundation

The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits, bound by Hannah Brown

‘Although Tom covers thousands of miles during his impromptu road trip, the scene I set for the book cover was when he drives through Las Vegas,’ says Hannah Brown. 

‘The cover design illustrates a road scene, with grey tarmac and the central yellow road line shown at the very base of the cover design. The title of the book appears on the spine, disguised as a colourful diner-style sign with embroidered gold lights surrounding it. On the back cover there is a set of traffic lights set on green for “GO”, as Tom continues his journey. There is also a yellow diamond-shaped road sign, which in the USA is a warning sign used to alert drivers to potential hazards ahead… With all the mention of basketball I felt it important to tie it into the design, so the doublures, endpapers, book edges and the endbands are all done in homage to the game.’

Hand-bound edition of The Rest of Our Lives, photographed on a windowsill — A bespoke edition of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted novel *The Rest of Our Lives* by Ben Markovits, hand-bound by Hannah Brown
© Indira Birnie for Booker Prize Foundation

The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, bound by Angela James

‘When I design for a binding, the first thing I think about are the colours and in this case that meant a limited palette of white, pale grey, and the darker grey/black outline of the bare trees. At one point the author describes the sky as being the colour of old porcelain,’ says Angela James.

‘I wanted to convey the feeling of a snowbound landscape with two households divided by a field. To symbolise these two homes, I cut two circles, each enclosed within a pale blue surround, and each having its own identity… The “footprints” represent the fact that the two women become friends and trudge across the field to each other’s houses.’

Hand-bound edition of The Land in Winter, photographed on a windowsill — A bespoke edition of the Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted novel *The Land in Winter* by Andrew Miller, hand-bound by Angela James
© Indira Birnie for Booker Prize Foundation

Flesh by David Szalay, bound by Stuart Brockman

‘The design shows the progression of the story of István’s life through the book,’ says Stuart Brockman. 

‘From the rear board the design begins with a Hungarian flag – István’s native country; the desert camouflage represents István’s time in the army serving in Iraq; the Union Jack is shown as he moved to the UK; a pile of £50 notes represents his coming into wealth; an architectural scene his professional life as a property developer… The male figure across the spine in the stance of a bouncer/doorman shows István at the centre of his story in one of the phases of his professional life… The single red female silhouette represents Helen Nyman, who appears to be the most significant person in his life… Black leather was chosen to represent the recurrent theme of death.’