- The longlist for the 2026 International Booker Prize was announced on the 24th of February 2026, with 13 books selected from 128 submissions
- Selected works span 11 original languages, with authors and translators representing 14 nationalities across four continents
- The judging panel is chaired by Natasha Brown and comprises Sophie Hughes, Marcus du Sautoy, Troy Onyango, and Nilanjana S. Roy
- The International Booker Prize has been running in its current format for 10 years, and mirrors the Booker Prize
The 2026 International Booker Prize longlist has been announced, with 13 fictional works (either longform fiction or short stories) selected from 128 publisher submissions. The longlisted books span 13 works across 11 languages, representing 14 nationalities.
Like the Booker Prize, the International Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world. Awarded annually, it celebrates the best works of longform fiction or short story anthologies translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland. It recognises the crucial work of translators in the literary industry, with the £50,000 prize money divided equally between authors and translators, with shortlisted authors and translators each receiving £2500. While there is no time stipulation on the original language work, entries into the International Booker Prize must have been translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland between the 1st of May 2025 and the 30th of April 2026.
The rules of the International Booker Prize were amended in 2015 to reflect those of the Booker Prize, allowing the two to have a parallel relationship, with the former showcasing outstanding works of fiction that transcend borders.
2026 International Booker Prize longlist
Herewith, a guide to the longlisted books for the 2026 International Booker Prize. This year, the longlist comprises 13 books, also known as the ‘Booker’s Dozen’.
The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin
Spanning four decades, from 1979 to 2009, The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran chronicles a family’s escape from and return to Iran. Told from multiple perspectives, the novel delves into the human side of what happens in the wake of a revolution, exploring the often conflicting feelings around family and homeland.
Original language: German
Publisher: Scribe UK
We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Robin Myers
A reimagining of the storied life of 17th-century figure Antonio de Erauso, a nun turned war lieutenant and one of South America’s most famous trans men. Set in the depths of the South American jungle at the tail end of the Spanish conquest, de Erauso writes to his aunt—the prioress of the convent he escaped as a young girl—while caring for two Indigenous girls he freed from enslavement. Finding tenderness within the brutal colonial history of Latin America, the wilderness of the rainforest becomes a surrealist space for the discovery of beauty and transformation.
Original language: Spanish
Publisher: Harvill
The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated by David McKay
Set in the wake of the first world war, The Remembered Soldier follows the life of Noon Merckem, who has lost his memory and lives in a psychiatric asylum. Following a newspaper add, countless women visit him there in the hope of finding their spouse who vanished in battle. A woman, Julienne, recognises Noon as her husband, photographer Amand Coppens. Amand gradually pieces his life together based on snippets of Julienne’s stories about him — but he starts to question whether he can trust if she’s telling the truth.
Original language: Dutch
Publisher: Scribe UK
The Deserters by Mathias Énard, translated by Charlotte Mandell
Weaving together two stories told by two distinct voices, The Deserters explores the impact of war on the most intimate elements of our lives. In one story, a soldier emerges filthy and exhausted from the Mediterranean wilderness, fleeing a nameless war in pursuit of refuge in solitude. Elsewhere, on the 11th of September 2001, aboard a small cruise ship near Berlin, a scientific conference pays tribute to the late Paul Heudeber, an East German mathematician, Buchenwald survivor, communist, and anti-fascist whose commitment to his side of the Wall was unshaken by its collapse. As the novel progresses, the gravitational pull between these narratives becomes stronger, weaving and overlapping.
Original language: French
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions
Small Comfort by Ia Genberg, translated by Kira Josefsson
A quintet of short stories, each of the tales in Small Comfort are united by one thing: money. From the mysterious death of an employee at a drug manufacturer or the faux-happy marriage of a couple to secure their inheritance, Small Comfort deftly explores the value we place on money and how it impacts our relationships with each other.
Original language: Swedish
Publisher: Wildfire
She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel
A dark, nonlinear novel, She Who Remains tells the story of Bekja, who escapes an arranged marriage by becoming a sworn virgin, renouncing her womanhood to live as a man. Set in Albania’s Accursed Mountains, in a village ruled by the ancient laws of the Kanun, She Who Remains explores identity in a contemporary world governed by archaic patriarchal laws.
Original language: Bulgarian
Publisher: Peirene Press
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin
An exploration of the complex relationship between art and power, The Director is set in the 1930s and tells the story of G.W. Pabst, a director who escapes the horrors of new Germany by fleeing to Hollywood. Upon return to his homeland of Austria (now ‘Ostmark’) to aid his ailing mother, he, his wife, and young son are confronted with the horrors of the regime. But despite Pabst’s resolution to submit to the dictatorship and stay far away from the minister of propaganda, he begins to find himself entangled in the establishment he sought to escape.
Original language: German
Publisher: riverrun
On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan
A raw, dystopian novel, On Earth As It Is Beneath is set in a state-built penal colony in the Brazilian wilderness, where inmates could be rehabilitated but never escape. Decades later, the operations are winding down but the warden introduces a new horror: every full-moon night, two inmates are released and the warden, armed with rifles, hunts them down.
Original language: Portuguese
Publisher: Charco Press
The Duke by Matteo Melchiorre, translated by Antonella Lettieri
The ‘Duke’—a nickname mockingly bestowed by his neighbours—the last in the aristocratic Cimamonte family bloodline, lives in the villa of his aristocratic ancestors in Vallorgàna, a remote village high in the foothills of the Dolomites. When he discovers that the villiage mogul has been taking timber from his land, the Duke must decide whether to protect his peace by staying in isolation or preserving his ancestors’ honour by fighting against this affront.
Original language: Italian
Publisher: Foundry Editions
The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump
In this witty novel, a mediocre witch living in a small French town attempts to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who it’s quickly revealed have powers far surpassing her own. An exploration of womanhood, motherhood, shame, and power, The Witch creates a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere through lyrical prose.
Original language: French
Publisher: MacLehose Press
Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh, published by Penguin International Writers
Weaving together the destinies of five women—from a wealthy middle-aged housewife to a sex worker and a schoolteacher—who come together to live in an abundant garden on the outskirts of Tehran, Women Without Men is a powerful story about women escaping the restrictions of family and society to create a world without men.
Original language: Persian
Publisher: Penguin International Writers
The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken
In 1620, Christenze Krukow creates a wax child, by melting down beeswax and setting it in the image of a small human. For days she carries it beneath her arm, imbuing it with life. While the wax child cannot see or speak, it watches and listens as the townspeople begin to talk. Based on a 17th-century Danish witch trial, The Wax Child is a haunting, otherworldly novel that recalls a grim time in history.
Original language: Danish
Publisher: Viking
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King
A bittersweet love story, Taiwan Travelogue follows young novelist Aoyama Chizuko who has sailed from her home in Nagasaki, Japan, and arrived in Taiwan. Despite being invited there by the ruling Japanese government, she has no interest in their imperialist agenda and instead seeks to experience real island life. When a Taiwanese woman younger than her is hired as her interpreter, Chizuko’s dreams begin to come true and the two grow closer.
Original language: Mandarin Chinese
Publisher: And Other Stories
Words by T. Angel
