David Szalay at the Sydney Writers' Festival
Following his 2025 Booker Prize win for Flesh, David Szalay took part in a series of press engagements at the Sydney Writers' Festival, sharing insights on everything from Australian culture to the limitations of AI.
Views on Australia
Szalay expressed a fondness for the country, offering a unique cultural assessment:
"Australia is sort of more American than Europe and more European than America."
Favorite Australian Novels
Szalay cited two Australian works he has recently read and admired:
- Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
- Fly Away Peter by David Malouf — which he especially praised
Recommended Hungarian Author in Translation
Szalay recommended the novel Fateless by Imre Kertész, a Nobel Prize winner.
"It's a Holocaust novel with authority and some humor, ultimately sad and crushing."
Thoughts on AI and Writing
Szalay recounted an experiment in which an AI was asked to write a paragraph in the style of Flesh. His verdict was blunt:
"The AI-generated text was terrible."
He argued that it lacked the embodiment of human experience. While he acknowledged AI might improve at mimicking genre fiction, he insisted that it cannot originate creative ideas without human input.
Relationship with Book Promotion
Unlike the solitary nature of writing, Szalay said he enjoys the social aspect of promoting his book.
He also noted that he had already begun writing his next book before winning the Booker Prize, which he feels is beneficial for avoiding undue pressure.
Writing Conditions
Szalay reported no unusual habits. He prefers:
- A quiet environment
- Typically writing early in the morning
Thoughts on Audiobooks
Though he does not listen to audiobooks himself, Szalay supports others experiencing books in that format. However, he noted a key difference:
"Audiobooks impose an interpretation and dictate pace, which may differ from reading."
Physicality in Writing
Szalay explained that in Flesh, he aimed to write about life as a physical experience. He noted that simple activities, like lying by a swimming pool, can be a quiet physical experience.
"Physicality underlies everything and shapes human life."
Book Categorization as a Masculinity Novel
Szalay expressed frustration with the label. He said he does not like Flesh being categorized primarily as a book about masculinity, as he did not think of it that way while writing.
He acknowledged that some early reviews stated it would be a mistake to view it as primarily about masculinity. However, after winning the Booker, the masculinity label was firmly attached to it.