Full Breakdown
2026 Booker Prize Longlist Unveiled
7/29/2026, 8:36:02 PM
Core Announcement
The Booker Prize Foundation released the 2026 “Booker Dozen” on a Thursday, naming 13 novels selected from 163 submissions. The longlist celebrates works of long-form fiction written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland between early October 2025 and late September 2026. The titles represent authors from seven countries—England, Ireland, Scotland, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and the United States—and span three continents.
Judges & Their Remarks
The judging panel was chaired by classicist, writer and broadcaster Mary Beard. She was joined by musician-writer Jarvis Cocker, poet-writer Raymond Antrobus, journalist-editor Rebecca Liu, and author-essayist Patricia Lockwood.
Composition of the Longlist
- Number of titles: 13
- Submissions reviewed: 163
- Geographic spread: authors from seven nations across three continents
- Age range of authors: 28 years (Djamel White) to 81 years (M John Harrison)
- Debut vs. established writers: three debut authors (Djamel White, Kenan Orhan, Rebecca Perry) and ten first-time longlistees, alongside previous winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart and perennial nominee Elizabeth Strout.
Notable entries include:
- *The Shadow of the Object* – Chloe Aridjis (Mexico City)
- *Switzy* – Emma Cline (assisted-suicide clinic in Switzerland)
- *Helen of Nowhere* – Makenna Goodman (140-page Scottish-island narrative)
- *The End of Everything* – M John Harrison (post-apocalyptic Kent)
- *The Disappearers* – Marlon James (1980s Kingston, Jamaica)
- *The Things We Never Say* – Elizabeth Strout (Massachusetts, pre-2024 U.S. election)
- *John of John* – Douglas Stuart (Hebridean island)
If M John Harrison were to win, he would become the oldest Booker laureate, surpassing Margaret Atwood, who was 79 when she won in 2019. This possibility was noted by the Independent.
Prize Details and Timeline
- Shortlist announcement: scheduled for 22 September 2026 at London’s Southbank Centre.
- Winner announcement: occurred on 9 November 2026, with the author receiving £50,000 and the “Iris” trophy.
- Shortlist prize: each of the six shortlisted authors receives £2,500 and a specially bound edition of their book.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Every writer on our longlist brilliantly musters the power of words on the page to take the reader to new places, to see old places from new angles, to change minds.” — Mary Beard — Mary Beard, chair of the judges
- “One of the many important things about fiction is that it helps us see what it might be like not to be us, to begin to understand the perspectives of others, and to imagine what it might be like to see the world differently. Great books are not cozy. In their various ways, the novels we have chosen are (we hope) dynamite.” — Gaby Wood, chief executive — Gaby Wood, chief executive
