The International Booker Prize has revealed its 2026 longlist, featuring 13 works of translated fiction from 11 languages. Selected from 128 submissions, the books celebrate long-form fiction and short story collections published in the UK or Ireland between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. The prize, marking its 10th anniversary, awards £50,000 split equally between author and translator.
The longlist for the 2026 International Booker Prize includes titles by authors from various nationalities, highlighting themes of war, witchcraft, identity, and historical injustices. Judging chair Natasha Brown, joined by Marcus du Sautoy, Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango, and Nilanjana S. Roy, selected the books from entries originally written in a record 34 languages. Brown noted, “Many of the submitted books examined the devastating consequences of war, which is reflected in our longlist. The list also features petty squabbles between neighbours, mysterious mountain villages, big pharma conspiracies, witchy women, ill-fated lovers, a haunted prison, and obscure film references.”
Among the longlisted works are "The Director" by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin, inspired by filmmaker G.W. Pabst's collaboration with the Third Reich. Olga Ravn's "The Wax Child," translated from Danish by Martin Aitken, explores 17th-century Danish witch trials. Marie NDiaye's "The Witch," translated from French by Jordan Stump, originally published in 1996, depicts a housewife teaching her daughters witchcraft. Shahrnush Parsipur's "Women Without Men," translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh and banned in Iran since 1989, follows five women seeking refuge amid revolution.
Debut novels include "She Who Remains" by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel, about a woman becoming a sworn virgin to escape marriage, and "The Duke" by Matteo Melchiorre, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri. Gabriela Cabezón Cámara's "We Are Green and Trembling," translated from Spanish by Robin Myers, reworks colonial history and won the US National Book Award for translated literature last year.
Other titles are "The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran" by Shida Bazyar (German, Ruth Martin), "The Remembered Soldier" by Anjet Daanje (Dutch, David McKay), "The Deserters" by Mathias Énard (French, Charlotte Mandell), "Small Comfort" by Ia Genberg (Swedish, Kira Josefsson), "On Earth As It Is Beneath" by Ana Paula Maia (Portuguese, Padma Viswanathan), and "Taiwan Travelogue" by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ (Mandarin Chinese, Lin King).
Booker Prize Foundation chief executive Gaby Wood highlighted the prize's impact: “Sales of translated fiction have doubled since the prize was first awarded in 2016.” The shortlist of six will be announced on March 31, 2026, with each receiving £5,000 split equally. The winner will be revealed on May 19, 2026, at Tate Modern in London, supported by Bukhman Philanthropies. Last year's winner was "Heart Lamp" by Banu Mushtaq, the first short story collection to take the prize.
