The Shortlist for the International Booker Prize 2026 has Been Announced

The International Booker Prize “celebrates the best works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026.” The winner will receive a £50,000 prize, split between the author and the translator. Shortlisted works receive a £5,000 prize.

Here is this year’s shortlist.

International Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist

Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King: “A bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history and power.”

The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump: “A mediocre witch, in a mediocre marriage, tries to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who, it becomes apparent, have skills far beyond her own.”

On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan: “An unsettling novel that sets us among an isolated group of men whose bonds break down in ways both hard to comprehend and impossible to look away from.”

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin: “An artist’s life and a pact with the devil: this is a novel about the dangerous illusions of the silver screen.”

She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel: “A dark and poetic novel about identity, gender, love, freedom, and societal norms.”

The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin: “Set across four decades, from 1979 to 2009, this is a polyphonic novel of one family’s flight from and return to Iran.”

Find out more about the shortlist at the Booker Prize website.

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