Sarah Jessica Parker is stepping into the literary spotlight as a judge for the 2025 Booker Prize. Much like her iconic Sex and the City character, Carrie Bradshaw—who was often seen running around New York City in Manolo Blahniks with a book in hand—Parker is a book lover. Beyond her work in Hollywood, she has built a reputation as an advocate for independent bookstores and storytelling.
Through her imprint, SJP for Hogarth, she’s brought attention to diverse and compelling voices in fiction. In an Instagram post from 2023, Parker said, “They are all glorious, radically and wonderfully different from one another, and simply share one ingredient—supremely gifted authors. Some are important new voices, some voices you might already know and love as I do.”
This announcement has sparked plenty of buzz in the literary community and fans of Parker are excited to see her share her unique perspective as a judge. However, some critics have questioned whether celebrity judges dilute the high literary standard of such awards.
Spectator writer Alexander Larman went further in a Dec 16 2024 article, The sad decline of the Booker Prize, stating;“The publicity-baiting appointment of Parker as a judge has had its desired effect.” Larman believes that Parker’s appointment was in order to drum up buzz for the 55 year-old Prize which has been losing public interest for some time.
However Parker, a self-proclaimed “devourer of stories,” doesn’t seem to be fazed by the push back. As shared by The New York Times, “Great storytelling is universal,” she said. “It’s a privilege to be part of this process and to celebrate these authors.”
As part of the judging panel, Parker will spend months reading and discussing dozens of novels to help select the year’s best English-language fiction.
An avid book reader and proud library card holder, Angela is new to the world of e-Readers. She has a background in education, emergency response, fitness, loves to be in nature, traveling and exploring. With an honours science degree in anthropology, Angela also studied writing after graduation. She has contributed work to The London Free Press, The Gazette, The Londoner, Best Version Media, Lifeliner, and Citymedia.ca.
