Interview with Kiley Reid, Judge of the 2025 Booker Prize

The 2025 Booker Prize — often regarded as a touchstone for the Nobel Prize in Literature and one of the world’s most influential literary honors — is about to be announced. The award has long been dedicated to recognizing outstanding literary achievement.

Recently, we sat down with Booker Prize judge Kiley Reid to discuss her perspective on the judging process and the key literary themes of this year’s competition.

Kiley Reid is an acclaimed American novelist best known for her debut Such a Fun Age, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her work is celebrated for its sharp social insight and brisk, engaging narrative style.

This conversation offers a glimpse into the distinctive spirit of the Booker Prize and the deeper reflections shaping contemporary literature. Below is the full interview.

May Zhao: What responsibility do you believe contemporary literature bears in exploring identity?

Kiley Reid: I’m reluctant to assign that as a duty. Exploring identity is deeply personal, and many of the books I love don’t attempt to define a people—they simply capture one life with honesty and depth. Great literature approaches every character with fullness and truth. I don’t believe we reach understanding only by reading about people like ourselves. Often, it’s through losing ourselves in a life completely unlike our own that we uncover something essential about who we are.

May Zhao: As a former Booker Prize nominee, how do you see the prize’s impact on an author’s career?

Kiley Reid: The Booker Prize is profoundly transformative. It can bring a book to readers who might never have discovered it otherwise. Its global reach extends the life of a novel, and seeing your work translated is an extraordinary privilege. Readers trust the Booker to spotlight powerful writing—and that trust is one of the greatest gifts an author can receive.

May Zhao: Has the experience of the Booker Prize influenced your own writing?

Kiley Reid: I wish I could say I’m writing right now! At the start of the judging process, I hoped to keep working on my own projects, but there were simply too many books to read. Still, reading always reshapes how I approach my work—sometimes inspiring me to write toward something beautiful that lingers, and other times to write away from a theme I’ve grown tired of.

May Zhao: From a judge’s perspective, what qualities in contemporary fiction resonate most with the panel?

Kiley Reid: We’re all deeply moved by the precision with which writers capture human behavior. When a character says something piercingly real—or when a single word choice stuns us—that’s when the room lights up with conversation. Interestingly, after choosing our shortlist, we noticed every book explores some form of parent–child relationship. Since all of us on the panel are parents, perhaps that connection was inevitable.

May Zhao: How do you view the influence of literature from diverse cultural backgrounds on global readers?

Kiley Reid: I think it mirrors any great art form—moments of striking familiarity interwoven with entirely new ways of seeing the world. That tension between recognition and revelation creates a bridge between artist and reader. It’s one of the most meaningful ways to encounter another culture—and probably the cheapest way to travel.

May Zhao: Has there been a particular book or moment that’s had a lasting impact on you as a writer and judge?

Kiley Reid: Not one single book, but many moments—a sentence that stops me cold, or that quiet, shared awe among judges when we realize a novel has said something truly vital. Those collective discoveries are what stay with me.

May Zhao: During the judging process, what literary elements or themes have you focused on most? Have there been any changes in this year’s criteria?

Kiley Reid: When I start a book, I try not to judge it at all. I read it as if I’ve stumbled upon it at a friend’s house or in a waiting room, asking myself, “If I didn’t have to read this, would I keep going?” Genuine engagement always comes first. Once a book draws me in, I look closer at how the author achieves that effect. As for criteria, I wouldn’t say they’ve changed—but each panel brings its own sensibilities and histories to the table. That mix of perspectives forms a living, evolving canon, and it’s been a joy to be part of it.