International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist is announced
Daniel Kehlmann, Marie NDiaye and Yáng Shuāng-zǐ are among six authors on the 2026 International Booker Prize shortlist.
The shortlist for the 2026 International Booker Prize was announced on 31 March 2026. The six books are The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin; She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel; The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin; On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan; The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump; and Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King.
Five of the six authors and four of the six translators are women. Three of the books deal with pivotal moments of the last century: Japanese rule in 1930s Taiwan, Nazi-era Germany and the 1979 revolution in Iran.
Each shortlisted author and translator pair receives £5,000. The winner, who shares £50,000, was due to be announced on 19 May 2026. The judges are chaired by Natasha Brown.
The list is heavy with history, but its books come at it from unexpected angles: a film director's compromises, a horror novella, a queer romance. That is worth noting for anyone writing historical fiction. The prize tends to favour books that find a particular way into the past rather than those that simply retell it.
Sources: NPR: 6 books named finalists for the 2026 International Booker Prize; Publishing Perspectives: 2026 International Booker longlist.