International Booker shortlist dominated by women

The Booker Prize Foundation announced the 2026 International Booker Prize shortlist on March 31, naming six translated works led by women writers and translators and marking the award’s 10th year in its current form. The list includes five women authors, four women translators and two debut novels, according to the foundation. Daniel Kehlmann returned to the shortlist with translator Ross Benjamin, while Marie NDiaye was shortlisted again under the prize’s current translated-fiction format. The winner will be announced on May 19 at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London. ### Which books and author-translator pairs made the shortlist? The six shortlisted books are *On Earth As It Is Beneath* by Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan; *The Director* by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin; *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran* by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin; *Taiwan Travelogue* by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin by Lin King; *The Witch* by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump; and *She Who Remains* by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel. The Booker Prize Foundation said the shortlist was chosen from 128 books submitted by publishers. The eligible books were translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. The prize recognizes both the author and translator, with the award money divided equally between them. ### What did the judges say about this year’s list? Natasha Brown, chair of the 2026 judging panel, said the shortlisted books “reverberate with history” and contain “hope, insight and burning humanity,” according to the foundation’s announcement. Brown chaired a panel that also included translator Sophie Hughes, writer and bookseller Troy Onyango, novelist and columnist Nilanjana S. Roy, and mathematician and broadcaster Marcus du Sautoy. The Booker Prize Foundation said the books span settings from Japanese-ruled Taiwan in the 1930s to Nazi Germany and the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The shortlist also includes a work first published more than 30 years ago and a debut novel written in two months, according to the foundation’s background material. ### Which names are returning to the prize? Daniel Kehlmann is shortlisted for a second time, after previously being recognized in 2020 for *Tyll*, translated by Ross Benjamin. Ross Benjamin is also back on the shortlist. *The Director* is a novel inspired by the life of filmmaker G.W. Pabst and his entanglement with Nazi Germany, according to the Booker Prize Foundation. Marie NDiaye has prior Booker history as well. The foundation said *The Witch*, translated by Jordan Stump, gives NDiaye her first shortlist place in the prize’s current form, while she had previously been longlisted in 2016 and shortlisted in 2013 under the earlier version of the International Booker, when the award honored an author’s body of work. ### Where are the debut breakthroughs on the list? Two of the six shortlisted books are debuts, the Booker Prize Foundation said. Rene Karabash’s *She Who Remains*, translated by Izidora Angel, and Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s *Taiwan Travelogue*, translated by Lin King, are the first novels by those authors to reach the shortlist. The foundation said the shortlisted authors and translators represent eight nationalities across four continents and work from five original languages. Independent publishers remain prominent on the list, trade coverage from Publishers Weekly and The Bookseller reported after the shortlist announcement. ### How does the International Booker Prize work this year? The International Booker Prize awards £50,000 to the winning author and translator, split equally between them. Each shortlisted title also receives a £5,000 prize for the author and translator, also divided equally, according to the Booker Prize Foundation’s rules. The 2026 award covers works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland during the eligibility window. The prize is supported by Bukhman Philanthropies, the foundation said. ### What happens next, and when? May 19 is the date set for the winner announcement at Tate Modern in London, according to the Booker Prize Foundation’s 2026 prize page. Before that, the shortlisted authors and translators were scheduled to appear at a public readings event in Bristol on May 15, the foundation said. The winning author-translator pair will receive the £50,000 prize at the London ceremony.