Booker longlist drops
The International Booker Prize 2026 longlist of 13 translated novels was published this week, and bettors have pushed The Remembered Soldier to the top of the odds ahead of the March 31 shortlist. The longlist is now must‑scan reading for literary fiction fans hunting translated voices. (thelongestchapter.com) (olbg.com)
The Booker Prize Foundation published the 2026 International Booker longlist on 24 February 2026, selecting 13 titles from 128 submissions. (thebookerprizes.com) The judging panel was chaired by novelist Natasha Brown and included Marcus du Sautoy, translator Sophie Hughes, writer and bookseller Troy Onyango, and Nilanjana S. Roy. (thebookerprizes.com) The longlist spans 11 original languages and authors of 14 nationalities, features three debut works and five returning author‑translator pairings, and includes more than half its titles from independent presses such as Foundry Editions and Fitzcarraldo Editions. (thebookerprizes.com) Among the other names on the longlist are Daniel Kehlmann (The Director), Mathias Énard (The Deserters), Marie NDiaye (The Witch), Olga Ravn (The Wax Child), Shida Bazyar (The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran) and Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (We Are Green and Trembling). (bookreporter.com) The prize awards £50,000 to the winning author and translator (split equally) and £5,000 to each shortlisted title, with this year’s winner to be announced at a ceremony in London on 19 May 2026. (thebookerprizes.com) All eligible titles were English translations published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026, a submission window that produced the 128‑book longlist pool. (thebookerprizes.com)
