The much-anticipated Booker Prize 2026 shortlist is here. Whittled down from the Booker Dozen, past winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart feature, alongside previous shortlistee Elizabeth Strout.
British authors dominate the list, which also includes two debut novelists. The titles transport readers around the world and throughout history, from Medieval England to 1990’s Isle of Harris, contemporary Maine and 1980’s Jamaica.
Selected by a judging panel chaired by Mary Beard, the classicist said the narratives range from “the hilarious to the discomfiting, from the powerfully shocking to the intriguingly understated”, representing “writing at its best”. Beard added that…
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