Taiwan Travelogue wins 2026 International Booker

Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s *Taiwan Travelogue*, translated by Lin King, won the 2026 International Booker Prize at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London on May 19, according to the prize organizers. The Booker Prizes said the novel is the first book translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award, and that Yáng and King are the first Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American winners. The prize, which honors fiction translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland, carries £50,000 in prize money split equally between author and translator. Natasha Brown, chair of the 2026 judging panel, announced the winner at the London event. ### Why is this win being treated as historic? The Booker Prizes said *Taiwan Travelogue* is the first book translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the International Booker Prize. The organization also said Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and Lin King are the first Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American winners of the prize. NPR similarly reported that the award is marking its 10th anniversary this year, adding to the attention around this year’s result. (thebookerprizes.com) The 2026 award was the 11th time the current version of the International Booker has named a winning work of translated fiction, according to coverage from Reuters carry and other outlets surfaced in search results, but the Booker organization’s own release is the primary source for the historical firsts attached to this year’s winner. (thebookerprizes.com) ### What kind of book is *Taiwan Travelogue*? The Booker Prizes described the novel as a work that “takes the form of a fictional translation of a rediscovered Japanese travel memoir” and follows a culinary tour across 1930s Taiwan under Japanese rule. The organization said the book explores “history, power and love” through two women at the center of that journey. (thebookerprizes.com) The prize release said the book was praised by Brown as “a captivating, slyly sophisticated” work that succeeds “as both a romance and an incisive postcolonial novel.” In the same release, Yáng said research for the novel changed her life in “two obvious ways,” adding that “my savings went down; my weight went up.” (thebookerprizes.com) ### Who are the author and translator behind it? The Booker Prizes identified Yáng Shuāng-zǐ as the winning author and Lin King as the translator from Mandarin Chinese. The organization also noted that this was Yáng’s first work translated into English. Search results from the Booker library page for the book list Mandarin Chinese as the original language. (thebookerprizes.com) And Other Stories, the independent press behind the UK edition, also drew mention in the Booker release. The organization said the publisher recorded back-to-back wins after its 2025 success with *Heart Lamp*. ### How does the International Booker Prize work? The Booker Prizes said the International Booker recognizes long-form fiction or short-story collections translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026, for this year’s award cycle. (thebookerprizes.com) The organizers said the £50,000 prize is divided equally between the author and translator, and both receive a trophy. Brown was joined on the 2026 judging panel by Marcus du Sautoy, Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango and Nilanjana S. Roy, according to the Booker release. The ceremony also included filmed readings from the shortlisted books by actors including Kae Alexander, Jehnny Beth, Toheeb Jimoh, Toby Jones, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Indira Varma. (thebookerprizes.com) ### Where can readers follow what happens next? The Booker Prizes said the winner announcement was shared through a livestream on its YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels, where the event can still be watched. The organization’s library page for *Taiwan Travelogue* lists the book as the 2026 winner and identifies Lin King as translator, offering the official entry point for readers looking for the winning title and prize details. (thebookerprizes.com)