Sarah Jessica Parker To Judge Booker Awards: 'Going to Listen A Lot'

And just like that, Sarah Jessica Parker is joining the 2025 Booker Prize judging panel!

The Booker Prize Foundation announced Tuesday that the former Sex and the City star will join four accomplished authors and literary citizens in selecting the next winner of the prestigious literary award.

But this isn't her first foray into the world of books. Last year, the star, 59, launched her imprint SJP Lit through independent publisher Zando and previously spent time as the editorial director of another, SJP for Hogarth.

In an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, Parker said that her love of books and reading traces back to her childhood, where her mother's passion for reading fueled her own.

“She used to drive with a book in her lap, sneaking in a few sentences at red lights,” Parker said in the interview.

The actor and literarian has carried that legacy with her in all of her endeavors — whether it's curating Carrie Bradshaw's fictional bookshelves on the set of And Just Like That... or posting about recent reads on social media.

Related: What’s on Carrie Bradshaw’s Bookshelf These Days? See the Books Shown on the Latest Episode of ‘And Just Like That…’

In 2022, Parker commented on a post from the Booker Prize's Instagram account titled, "What is it really like to be a Booker Prize Judge?" expressing her desire to take on the role. “Oh let me try!!!!” she wrote in the comments.

Her new role as a judge might require Parker to read as many as 170 books, something she was able to take on due to a break in filming commitments that left her with more time in her schedule to hit the books.

Related: 'AJLT’ Showrunner Says Writers Were 'Split' on Charlotte's Bomb Cyclone Parenting Decision (Exclusive)

“I’m just going to listen a lot,” she told The New York Times of her judging strategy. “That’s the way I’ve probably created a career outside of acting: just being surrounded by people who are expert and listening, listening, listening.”

Despite her own success in the literary world, Parker admits that she has struggled to overcome doubt that she belongs.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Even when I went into publishing, I felt very nervous about people taking me seriously. I felt like an interloper, and that I was constantly in a position of having to prove myself,” Parker said in the interview. “So to be a judge on the Booker, which is the greatest literary award bestowed — it felt very daunting.”

Parker will join 1993 Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, writer, broadcaster and literary critic Chris Power and Booker Prize-longlisted authors Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ and Kiley Reid on the judging panel.

Read the original article on People