Szalay was born in Montreal in 1974 in aJewish[5][6] family of a Canadian mother and a Hungarian father. His family then moved toBeirut. They were forced to leave Lebanon after the onset of theLebanese Civil War. They then moved to London, where he attendedSussex House School.[7][8] Szalay read English at theUniversity of Oxford where he was an undergraduate student ofBrasenose College, Oxford.[9][10] After graduating, he worked at various jobs in sales in London. Szalay moved toBrussels, then toPécs in Hungary to pursue his ambition of becoming a writer.[8]
Szalay has written a number of radio dramas for theBBC.[9] His 2018 book of short stories,Turbulence, originated in a series of 15-minute programmes forBBC Radio 4. The 12 stories included inTurbulence follow different people on flights around the world, exploring theglobalization of family and friendship in the 21st century.[11] He won theBetty Trask Award for his first novel,London and the South-East, along with theGeoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. Since then, he has written three other novels:Innocent (2009),[12]Spring (2011),[13] andFlesh (2025).[14]
A linked collection of short stories,All That Man Is,[15] was shortlisted for theMan Booker Prize and won theGordon Burn Prize in 2016.[16][17]The Spectator said that "nobody captures the super-sadness of modern Europe as well as Szalay".[18]The Observer questioned its structure and whether or not it qualifies as anovel in the traditional sense: "does it in any sense work, asJonathan Cape wants us to believe, as a novel? Yes, there's a thematic consistency that makes this more than a collection, and Szalay even throws in the odd narrative link (the 73-year-old, it transpires, is the 17-year-old's granddad). But still, a novel? I don't think so."[19]
In 2025, Szalay's novelFlesh won theBooker Prize;[22] The first Hungarian–British author to receive the award,[23][24] Szalay said that he "wanted to write a book that stretched between Hungary and London and involved a character who was not quite at home in either place."[23] A film adaptation ofFlesh was announced in November 2025, with House Productions as the producer.[25][26]
The categorization of his books as novels or not has sparked some debate, particularly forAll That Man Is[19] andTurbulence.[27]All That Man Is comprises nine distinct stories that weave a larger thematic picture.Turbulence is a collection of twelve loosely connected stories about different people.Flesh, while episodic, more closely resembles a conventional novel centred on a single protagonist.[28][29]
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