International Booker winner to be announced at Tate Modern on May 19

The Booker Prize Foundation said the 2026 International Booker Prize winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 19, at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London. The award carries £50,000, split equally between the winning author and translator, while each shortlisted title has already received £5,000, according to the foundation. The six-book shortlist was published on March 31 after judges considered 128 submissions from publishers. Bookmaker OLBG said on May 13 that Taiwan Travelogue was the 5/2 favorite ahead of the ceremony. ### When and where is the winner being announced? Tuesday, May 19, is the date set for the 2026 winner announcement, according to the Booker Prize Foundation. The foundation said the ceremony and dinner will be held at Tate Modern in London. The Booker Prize website said the announcement will be livestreamed from 10:05 p.m. BST on the prize's YouTube, Instagram and TikTok accounts. The event is part of the prize's 10th year in its current form, the foundation said. ### Which books are still in contention? The Booker Prize Foundation listed six finalists for 2026: Taiwan Travelogue, The Witch, On Earth As It Is Beneath, The Director, She Who Remains and The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran. The books were translated from five original languages and selected by a judging panel chaired by author Natasha Brown, according to the foundation. Natasha Brown said in the shortlist announcement that the books "reverberate with history" and contain "hope, insight and burning humanity." The judging panel also includes Marcus du Sautoy, Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango and Nilanjana S. Roy, the foundation said. ### Why is Taiwan Travelogue drawing so much attention? Taiwan Travelogue is the first literary work from Taiwan ever shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Culture and Focus Taiwan. The novel was written by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated into English by Lin King. The Booker Prize Foundation said the novel is set against Japan-ruled Taiwan in the 1930s and was first published in Mandarin Chinese in 2020. The foundation's book page said it won Taiwan's Golden Tripod Award on publication in its original language. ### What do the betting markets show? OLBG said on May 13 that Taiwan Travelogue was the 5/2 favorite in its International Booker winner market. The bookmaker listed The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran at 3/1, The Director at 4/1 and She Who Remains at 5/1. OLBG is a betting-information site, not part of the prize process, and bookmaker odds do not indicate the judges' decision. Still, its published market added to attention around Taiwan Travelogue because a win would be a first for Taiwanese literature, according to OLBG and Taiwanese official statements. ### How does the prize work this year? The Booker Prize Foundation said the International Booker Prize honors works of long-form fiction or short-story collections translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. The 2026 longlist of 13 books was announced on February 24, before being cut to six finalists on March 31. The £50,000 prize is divided equally between the winning author and translator, the foundation said. Each shortlisted author-translator pair also receives £5,000, split equally. ### What happens next on May 19? London's Tate Modern will host the final ceremony on May 19, with the winner announced that night by the Booker Prize Foundation. The foundation said viewers can watch the result from 10:05 p.m. BST on its YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels.