2026 Booker Prize Longlist Announced With 13 Nominated Books

2026 Booker Prize Longlist Announced Featuring 13 Nominated Books

Beard was joined on the five-member 2026 judging panel by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, poet and writer Raymond Antrobus, journalist Rebecca Liu, and Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Patricia Lockwood. Speaking about the selection, Beard stated, Great books have never been written to a single formula. She added that the jurors sought to look past the conventional idea of a typical Booker winner and instead selected novels that act as risk-takers trying to expand boundaries.

Previous Winners and Renowned Authors Return to the Longlist

The 2026 longlist includes two previous winners of the literary award. Marlon James, who won the prize in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings, was longlisted for his fifth novel, The Disappearers, which follows a 1988 mob attack on a gay theatre group in Kingston, Jamaica. Douglas Stuart, who won the 2020 prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain, is nominated for John of John, a novel about a young gay man returning to the Scottish island of Harris.

Pulitzer Prize laureate Elizabeth Strout is included on the longlist as a third-time nominee for her 11th novel, The Things We Never Say. Strout was previously nominated in 2016 for My Name is Lucy Barton and shortlisted in 2022 for Oh William! Other prominent contenders on the list include Gwendoline Riley for The Palm House and M. John Harrison for The End of Everything.

Debut Authors, Global Representation, and Age Milestones

The 13 selected books feature authors representing three continents and seven countries: England, Ireland, Scotland, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey, and America. The longlist features three debut authors: Djamel White, Kenan Orhan, and Rebecca Perry. At 28 years old, White is the youngest author in the running for his Dublin underworld thriller All Them Dogs. Orhan, a Turkish-American writer, is nominated for The Renovation, and Perry is recognized for May We Feed the King.

At 81 years old, science fiction novelist M. John Harrison is the oldest author in the running, with his postapocalyptic tale The End of Everything marking a rare science fiction inclusion on the Booker list. Additionally, Mexican-British author Chloe Aridjis could become the first author of Mexican heritage to win the prize with her novel The Shadow of the Object, while Orhan is up for a potential history-making win as the first victor of Turkish heritage.

Full 2026 Booker Prize Longlist

• The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis
• Switzy by Emma Cline
• Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman
• The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
• The Disappearers by Marlon James
• Black Bag by Luke Kennard
• The Renovation by Kenan Orhan
• May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
• The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
• John of John by Douglas Stuart
• All Them Dogs by Djamel White
• The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams

Next Steps and Prize Details

The judging panel will narrow the field by announcing six shortlisted authors on September 22. Each of the six finalists will receive £2,500, which is about $3,300. The ultimate winner of the 2026 Booker Prize will be revealed during a ceremony in London on November 9. The victor will receive £50,000—a little more than $66,000—alongside a trophy named ‘Iris’.