Mary Beard, the classicist and chair of this year's Booker Prize judges, described the 13 longlisted novels as 'dynamite' — and with two previous winners, a Pulitzer Prize laureate, and three debut novelists in the mix, the 2026 Booker Dozen has already sparked intense literary excitement.
The Booker Prize is the literary world's most prestigious award for long-form fiction written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. Authors of any nationality are eligible. This year's longlist, announced on Tuesday 28 July 2026, features 13 books selected from 163 submissions. The judges — including Beard, musician Jarvis Cocker, poet Raymond Antrobus, journalist Rebecca Loi, and novelist Patricia Lockwood — read every submission. Beard admitted she 'occasionally felt daunted as a new box of 30 or so gleaming volumes landed on my doorstep' but emphasised the 'eye-opening pleasure' of the process.
“The 2026 Booker Prize longlist features previous winners and debut novelists. Here's what you need to know about the prestigious award and this year's contenders.”
The longlist includes past winners Marlon James (2015, for 'A Brief History of Seven Killings') and Douglas Stuart (2020, for 'Shuggie Bain'), as well as three-time nominee Elizabeth Strout, who won the Pulitzer Prize for 'Olive Kitteridge' in 2009. James's entry is 'The Disappearers', a 600-page novel about eight gay men targeted by a mob in 1980s Jamaica, due for release in September. Stuart's 'John of John' explores father-son secrets on a remote Scottish island. Strout's 'The Things We Never Say' follows a high school teacher in Massachusetts grappling with isolation and anxiety ahead of the 2024 US election. Other novels range from Mexico City to a Zurich assisted suicide clinic, reflecting the judges' aim to 'take the reader to new places'.
Ten of the 13 authors are first-time longlistees, including debut novelists Kenan Orhan, Rebecca Perry, and Djamel White. The list is dominated by British authors, with almost half from the UK. Notable omissions include Maggie O'Farrell, Ann Patchett, John Lanchester, Deborah Levy, and Julian Barnes, whose 'Departure(s)' was expected to be his final book.
For UK readers, the Booker Prize is a cultural landmark. Winners often see a surge in sales and mainstream success — David Szalay's 2025 winner 'Flesh' enjoyed similar attention as previous winners like 'Shuggie Bain' and 'Orbital'. Many winning novels are adapted for film (e.g., 'The Remains of the Day', 'Life of Pi'). The prize also fuels book club discussions and high-street sales, making it a key event in the UK literary calendar.
Q: How is the Booker Prize winner chosen? The winner is selected by a panel of five judges, who read all submitted novels (163 this year). They first announce a longlist of 13 books (the 'Booker Dozen'), then a shortlist of six on 22 September. The winner is announced on 9 November and receives a trophy and £50,000.
Q: Who are the previous winners on this year's longlist? Marlon James won in 2015 for 'A Brief History of Seven Killings'; Douglas Stuart won in 2020 for 'Shuggie Bain'. If either wins again, they would become only the fifth author to win the Booker twice, joining J.M. Coetzee, Peter Carey, Hilary Mantel, and Margaret Atwood.
Q: What are the eligibility criteria for the Booker Prize? Books must be long-form fiction originally written in English, by an author of any nationality, and published in the UK or Ireland between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026.
The shortlist will be revealed on Tuesday 22 September 2026, with the winner crowned on Monday 9 November 2026. Until then, readers can tackle the Booker Dozen — the 13 novels that Beard says 'brilliantly muster the power of words on the page'.