New International Booker nominee to watch
Rene Karbash’s novel She Who Remains — originally published in Bulgarian in 2018 and translated by Izidora Angel — was spotlighted on the International Booker shortlist for its exploration of the costs of living as a free woman (scroll.in). Coverage framed the title as a cultural nomination that raises visibility for the author’s national literature rather than just an individual prize win (scroll.in).
Rene Karabash’s *She Who Remains*, translated by Izidora Angel, is one of six books shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize. (thebookerprizes.com) The shortlist was announced on March 31, 2026, and the winner is due on May 19 at Tate Modern in London. Each shortlisted book receives £5,000, split equally between author and translator. (thebookerprizes.com) The prize covers fiction or short-story collections translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. This year’s shortlist was cut from a 13-book longlist selected from 128 submissions. (thebookerprizes.com) Karabash’s novel was first published in Bulgarian, and its English edition came out from Peirene Press on February 10, 2026. The Booker site describes it as a story set in the Albanian Alps, where a teenage girl escapes an arranged marriage by becoming a “sworn virgin” and living as a man named Matija. (thebookerprizes.com) That “sworn virgin” figure comes from Balkan customary law known as the Kanun, which the book frames as both an escape route and a trap. The judges said the novel follows how that choice “tears Matija’s family apart.” (thebookerprizes.com; peirenepress.com) The 2026 judging panel is chaired by novelist Natasha Brown and includes translator Sophie Hughes, writer Troy Onyango, novelist Nilanjana S. Roy, and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy. Booker said the six shortlisted books come from writers representing eight nationalities and four continents. (thebookerprizes.com) For Bulgarian literature, the nomination is rare. Bulgarian News Agency reported that *She Who Remains* is the second Bulgarian novel to reach the International Booker shortlist, after Georgi Gospodinov’s *Time Shelter*, translated by Angela Rodel, won in 2023. (bta.bg) Karabash, born Irena Ivanova in 1989, is also a poet, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Bulgarian News Agency said the novel won the Elias Canetti award in Bulgaria and has been translated into 15 languages. (bta.bg) The other shortlisted books are *The Director* by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin; *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran* by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin; *On Earth As It Is Beneath* by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan; *The Witch* by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump; and *Taiwan Travelogue* by Yang Shuang-zi, translated by Lin King. (thebookerprizes.com) For now, *She Who Remains* has already moved beyond a national debut or a small-press release: it is now in the final six for one of translated fiction’s biggest English-language prizes. (thebookerprizes.com)
