Introducing the International Booker Prize 2026 longlist!
The 2026 longlist for the International Booker Prize, the world’s most influential award for translated fiction, has been revealed – a ‘sparkling selection’ of 13 ‘fresh and innovative’ books
The longlist for the International Booker Prize 2026, supported by Bukhman Philanthropies, has now been announced.
From witchcraft to war, revolution to renewal, magic to murder – and ranging in size from pocket-friendly to doorstopper – this year’s longlisted books travel across continents and centuries. They use our collective histories to shine a light on our current preoccupations, and on the power imbalances that stem from gender, money and geopolitical forces.
The books feature memorable characters, including a queer Argentinian conquistador, a morally compromised German film director, a Japanese novelist with a ‘monstrous appetite’, an idiosyncratic Italian aristocrat and a Danish noblewoman accused of sorcery. And they transport readers from a brutal prison colony in the Brazilian wilderness to an Albanian mountain village ruled by ancient laws, from an asylum for traumatised soldiers in Belgium to an abundant garden on the outskirts of Tehran.
The International Booker Prize 2026 longlist
The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin
We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated from Spanish by Robin Myers
The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay
The Deserters by Mathias Énard, translated from French by Charlotte Mandell
Small Comfort by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson
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 Duke by Matteo Melchiorre, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri
The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump
Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh
The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated from Danish by Martin Aitken
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
A ‘fresh and innovative’ selection of books
The 2026 longlist features a ‘sparkling selection’ of ‘fresh and innovative’ books that capture the ‘calibre and variety of translated fiction’, according to the judges.
Chair of judges, Natasha Brown, explains:
‘Whether it’s for a birthday, a book club, or the bus ride to work, I’m confident that there’s a perfect fit among these 13 brilliant books.
‘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. And while the books’ original publication dates span four decades, each story feels fresh and innovative.
‘The calibre and variety of translated fiction being published in the UK is unbelievable. As judges, we’ve been spoilt for choice during these past eight months reading this year’s 128 submissions. Our discussions are always lively, and we’ve often been surprised by the myriad ways these books engaged us.
‘It is my absolute pleasure to share this sparkling selection of our favourites.’
Our TBR pile just grew 13 books taller. The trouble is choosing which one to read first! Thankfully the judges have shared their thoughts on each nominated book, explaining what it’s about and why they think it’s well worth reading.
Everything you need to know about this year’s longlist
Chosen from 128 titles translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026, the longlist features 13 superb works of fiction.
Where do this year’s longlisted authors and translators hail from? Which of them have been nominated for the International Booker Prize before? How many of the books are debuts? Which books were published in their original languages over 30 years ago? And who is an award-winning actor as well as a novelist?
We’ve gathered all the facts, stats and gossip on this year’s longlist into an ‘everything-you-need-to-know’ guide.
Coming up next…
The judges will spend the next few weeks narrowing down their ‘sparkling selection’ of books from 13 to just six. The International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist will then be revealed on Tuesday, 31 March.
In the meantime, we have heaps of things planned and coming soon here on Substack, on our website and across our social channels, including extracts from all the longlisted books, interviews with the nominated authors and translators, a quiz to help you decide which book to read first, and, of course, a chance to win the longlist (and other goodies).
Looking further ahead, the winner of the International Booker Prize 2026 will be announced on Tuesday, 19 May at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London. The announcement will be livestreamed on the Booker Prizes’ channels, and the winning author and translator will receive £50,000, split equally between them.
Buy the books
We’re a charity partner of ethical online bookshop BookKind. You can enjoy a range of discounts on prize-winning titles at BookKind, including this year’s International Booker Prize longlist. 10% of every purchase is donated to the Booker Prize Foundation, supporting our work to help readers and writers of the future.
Let us know what you think of this year’s longlist! Have you read any of the books already, or other works by the nominated authors and translators? Which books are you most excited about, and what will you read first?
Looking forward to that quiz to help me figure out where I should start reading
so ecstatic that beloved Taiwan Travelogue made the list!!!! 😭😭❤️🔥❤️🔥