NDiaye’s The Witch advances

Marie NDiaye’s *The Witch* has reached the 2026 International Booker Prize shortlist, putting the French novelist and translator Jordan Stump in the final six. (thebookerprizes.com) The shortlist was announced on March 31, 2026, by the Booker Prize Foundation. Judges chose six books from a 13-title longlist and 128 submissions from publishers. (thebookerprizes.com) *The Witch* was first published in French in 1996, and the Booker Prize Foundation said its 2026 recognition comes after a 30-year gap between original publication and shortlist selection. (thebookerprizes.com) The prize honors fiction translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. Its £50,000 award is split equally between the winning author and translator. (thebookerprizes.com) For NDiaye, the shortlist marks a first at this stage of the International Booker. Hachette says her novel *Ladivine*, also translated by Stump, was longlisted for the prize in 2016. (thebookerprizes.com) (hachette.com.au) The book centers on Lucie, a woman from a family of witches who tries to pass her powers to her twin daughters and finds they are stronger than she is. The Booker Prize Foundation lists the original language as French and credits MacLehose Press as the publisher on the shortlist. (thebookerprizes.com) In the United States, Penguin Random House lists the English-language edition at 144 pages and says it went on sale on April 7, 2026. (penguinrandomhouse.com) The 2026 judging panel is chaired by novelist Natasha Brown, with Marcus du Sautoy, Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango, and Nilanjana S. Roy. The winner is scheduled to be announced on May 19, 2026, at Tate Modern in London. (thebookerprizes.com)