The International Booker Prize has revealed its 2026 longlist, featuring 13 translated fiction works from 11 languages, including three debuts and several previous nominees. The selection highlights themes of war, exile, memory, and renewal, with the £50,000 prize shared equally between author and translator. The shortlist will be announced on March 31, 2026.
The International Booker Prize longlist for 2026 was announced on February 25, comprising 13 books originally published in languages including German, Spanish, Dutch, French, Swedish, Bulgarian, Italian, Portuguese, Persian, Danish, and Mandarin Chinese. Natasha Brown, chair of the judging panel, described the entries as examining "the devastating consequences of war," alongside stories of neighborly squabbles, mysterious villages, Big Pharma conspiracies, witchy women, ill-fated lovers, haunted prisons, and obscure film references. The list spans page counts from "pocket-friendly" to "doorstopper," with original publication dates across four decades, yet each feels "fresh and innovative."
The longlisted titles include:
- The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin (Scribe UK)
- We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated from Spanish by Robin Myers (Harvill)
- The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay (Scribe UK)
- The Deserters by Mathias Énard, translated from French by Charlotte Mandell (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Small Comfort by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson (Wildfire)
- She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel (Peirene Press)
- The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin (riverrun)
- On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan (Charco Press)
- The Duke by Matteo Melchiorre, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri (Foundry Editions)
- The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump (MacLehose Press)
- Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh (Penguin International Writers)
- The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated from Danish by Martin Aitken (Viking)
- Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King (And Other Stories)
Notable aspects include two books from the last century: The Witch (1996) and Women Without Men (1989). Five author-translator pairs have prior nominations. The judging panel consists of Natasha Brown, Marcus du Sautoy, Nilanjana S. Roy, Troy Onyango, and Sophie Hughes. Each shortlisted title receives £5,000, split equally, with the winner announced on May 19 at Tate Modern in London. This marks the prize's 10th year, funded by Bukhman Philanthropies.
