Tate Modern to announce the 2026 International Booker Prize winner today

The Booker Prize Foundation is due to name the 2026 International Booker Prize winner at Tate Modern in London on Tuesday, with the result set to close this year’s contest for translated fiction. The award recognizes a work of long-form fiction or short stories translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026. The foundation said judges selected this year’s shortlist from 128 submissions, after first naming a longlist of 13 books in February. The winner will be announced from 10.05 p.m. BST on the prize’s social channels. ### Which books are still in contention tonight? The six shortlisted books are *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran* by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin; *She Who Remains* by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel; *The Director* by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin; *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 Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King. (thebookerprizes.com) The Booker Prize Foundation said the list spans five original languages and authors and translators representing eight nationalities across four continents. The Booker Prize Foundation said the shortlist includes five women among the six authors and four women among the six translators. The foundation also described the selection as featuring two debut novels and a previously shortlisted author-translator pairing. ### How was the field narrowed down? (thebookerprizes.com) Tuesday, Feb. 24, was the date the foundation announced its 13-book longlist, drawn from 128 books submitted by publishers in the UK and Ireland. Tuesday, March 31, was the date the six-book shortlist was unveiled. The prize rules say only works translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland during the eligibility window could be entered. (thebookerprizes.com) Natasha Brown chairs the 2026 judging panel. The other judges are Marcus du Sautoy, Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango and Nilanjana S. Roy, according to the Booker Prize Foundation. ### What did the judges say about this year’s shortlist? Natasha Brown said the six shortlisted books “reverberate with history,” in comments released by the Booker Prize Foundation when the shortlist was announced. (thebookerprizes.com) Brown said the books contain “hope, insight and burning humanity.” (thebookerprizes.com) The foundation said the settings and themes range from Japan-ruled Taiwan in the 1930s to Nazi-controlled Europe during World War Two, from the 1979 Iranian Revolution to suburban France in the 1990s, a prison colony in Brazil and the Albanian Alps. ### What does the winner receive? The International Booker Prize carries £50,000 in prize money, divided equally between the winning author and translator. (thebookerprizes.com) Each shortlisted title also receives £5,000, split equally between author and translator, the foundation said. The prize is supported this year by Bukhman Philanthropies. (thebookerprizes.com) The Booker Prize Foundation describes the award as recognizing both the author and the translator, reflecting the role of translation in bringing international fiction to English-language readers. ### Where can readers follow the announcement? Tate Modern in London is hosting the ceremony on Tuesday night. The Booker Prize Foundation said the winner announcement will be livestreamed on its YouTube, Instagram and TikTok accounts from 10.05 p.m. (thebookerprizes.com) BST. Tuesday’s result will complete the 2026 International Booker cycle that began with submissions from UK and Irish publishers and moved through the February longlist and March shortlist. (thebookerprizes.com) The next set of publicly listed Booker Prize dates on the foundation’s site are for the separate 2026 Booker Prize: the longlist on July 28, the shortlist on Sept. 22 and the winner on Nov. 9. (thebookerprizes.com)