Booker Prize Winner Samantha Harvey Explores Humanity’s Fragility in Space Novel Orbital
In a landmark moment for British literature, Samantha Harvey has won the 2025 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital. At just 136 pages, the “space pastoral” is one of the shortest books ever to claim the prestigious award, yet its impact is anything but small. Set aboard the International Space Station, the novel portrays six astronauts grappling with the beauty and vulnerability of Earth as they orbit the planet.
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Harvey’s inspiration for the novel arose during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, a time when confinement and introspection resonated universally. Drawing from astronaut memoirs and space station footage, she created a narrative that simultaneously explores isolation and unity, mirroring the global challenges of climate change and human connection.
The Booker Prize jury, chaired by Edmund de Waal, lauded Orbital as a “miraculous” work, praising its ability to make the familiar world feel both strange and new. Gaby Wood, CEO of the Booker Prize Foundation, highlighted the novel’s relevance in a year marked by geopolitical turmoil and record-breaking global temperatures, calling it “hopeful, timely, and timeless.”
Harvey’s win also reflects a broader literary trend: the rise of eco-conscious storytelling. By focusing on humanity’s shared responsibilities and the fragile beauty of our planet, Orbital offers both a warning and a celebration of resilience.
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