Booker shortlist revealed
The 2026 International Booker Prize shortlist is out — six novels picked from a longlist of 13 (originally 128 submissions). The shortlist spans eight countries and four continents and names include Marie NDiaye, Daniel Kehlmann (his second nomination), René Karabash and Yáng Shuāng‑zǐ. (parade.com) (nytimes.com)
The six-title shortlist was chosen from a longlist of 13 that the judges selected out of 128 books submitted by publishers, with that longlist announced on 24 February 2026. (thebookerprizes.com) The winning author and translator will share a £50,000 prize, and each shortlisted title will receive £5,000 — split £2,500 to the author and £2,500 to the translator — with the winner to be revealed at a ceremony on 19 May 2026 at Tate Modern in London. (thebookerprizes.com) The 2026 judging panel is chaired by author Natasha Brown and includes Marcus du Sautoy, translator Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango and Nilanjana S. Roy. (thebookerprizes.com) The shortlist comprises five novels and one short‑story collection, according to coverage of the announcement. (euronews.com) Booker Foundation notes the six books transport readers through specific historical and geopolitical settings — Japan‑ruled Taiwan in the 1930s, Nazi‑controlled Europe during World War II, suburban France in the 1990s, the aftermath of Iran’s 1979 revolution, a brutal prison colony in Brazil, and a strict patriarchal community in the Albanian Alps. (thebookerprizes.com) Five of the six shortlisted authors are women and four of the six translators are female; the Foundation also highlights that the authors include an award‑winning actor, a former youth worker and a writer of manga and video‑game scripts. (thebookerprizes.com) The 2026 prize season also marks the 10th anniversary of the International Booker Prize in its current form, a milestone flagged by the Booker Prize Foundation and covered in industry reporting. (thebookseller.com)
