Booker Prize Winner Arundhati Roy to Release Memoir ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’ in 2025
Acclaimed Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy is set to publish her first memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, in September 2025. The memoir will be released simultaneously by Scribner in the United States and Canada, Penguin Random House in the UK and India, and will be available in eight additional territories, including Germany, France, and Italy. An audio version, narrated by Roy herself, will also be published by Simon & Schuster Audio.
This highly anticipated memoir offers an intimate reflection on Roy’s life, centred around her complex relationship with her mother, Mary. Described as both a source of shelter and turbulence, Mary played a profound role in shaping Roy’s personal and literary journey. The book explores themes of love, loss, and the powerful influence of family on identity, with Roy reflecting on her mother’s passing in 2022 and how it spurred her to write.
In an emotive statement, Roy said, “Perhaps a mother like mine deserved a writer like me as a daughter. Even more than a daughter mourning the passing of her mother, I mourn her as a writer who has lost her most enthralling subject.” She described her feelings of both grief and gratitude for her mother, whom she left at 18 to maintain their relationship from a distance, a decision she reflects on throughout the memoir.
Kathy Belden, Vice President and Editorial Director at Scribner, expressed admiration for Roy’s work, noting the depth and breadth of her compassion and intellect. “Her mind, her love of home and people, and her commitment to justice make this memoir a deeply enriching read,” Belden said. Scribner’s Senior Vice President, Nan Graham, echoed this sentiment, calling the memoir “an astonishing witness and journey.”
Roy, whose previous works include the Booker Prize-winning The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, continues to captivate readers worldwide. Known for her lyrical prose and sharp political insights, she has garnered praise for her fiction and non-fiction alike. Her essays, such as those found in Azadi and My Seditious Heart, have cemented her reputation as a leading voice in global literary and political discourse. In recognition of her contributions to literature, Roy was awarded the European Essay Prize in 2023 and the PEN Pinter Prize in 2024.
Mother Mary Comes to Me is expected to resonate with readers through its raw emotion, wit, and the deep exploration of familial bonds. With the same narrative scope and emotional intensity that marked her novels, this memoir promises to be a powerful addition to Roy’s impressive body of work.