Texas State alumna Ledia Xhoga named to Booker Prize long list

Misinterpretation, the debut novel from 2012 Texas State University MFA in creative writing graduate Ledia Xhoga, has been named to the 2025 Booker Prize long list. 

The Booker Prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for more than five decades. Each year, the prize is awarded to what is, in the opinion of the judges, the best sustained work of fiction written in English. It is a prize that transforms the winner’s career.

“I was in upstate New York driving through an area without any internet or cell service and my phone pretty much exploded with messages about being longlisted for the Booker prize when I got to a café,” Xhoga said. “I was shocked as I didn't expect it at all. I'm still coming to terms with all the attention it brings. 

Misinterpretation was published by Tin House Books and was the recipient of a New York City Book Award, Finalist for Center For Fiction First Novel Prize and a Best of 2024 Book by Debutiful. Xhoga’s work has also been published in Electric Literature, Lit Hub, Brooklyn Rail, Intrepid Times, Hobart and other journals. She currently lives in Brooklyn. 

“The graduates of this creative writing program have a long history of securing some of the country’s top honors—and this recent achievement by Xhoga adds to the illustrious recognition our graduates earn,” said incoming MFA in creative writing program director Charlotte Pence.  

This year, the Booker Prize selection committee reviewed 153 submissions. The shortlist will be announced Sept. 23 with the prize awarded in November. For more information, visit https://thebookerprizes.com/.