Booker Prize 2026 Shortlists Revealed: Check full list of books, authors; which new record can be set?

The Booker Prize 2026 shortlist has been revealed, with former winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart returning to the final six. The shortlist, revealed on September 22, features six novels chosen from 13 longlisted titles and 163 eligible submissions. The winner of the prestigious literary award will be announced on November 9, 2026, with the winning author receiving £50,000.

Marlon James Returns With ‘The Disappearers’

Jamaican author Marlon James, who clinched the Booker Prize in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings, has been shortlisted again for The Disappearers. The novel is set in 1980s Jamaica and is based on the aftermath of a violent attack on queer men during a play rehearsal. At 640 pages, it is the longest book on this year’s shortlist.

Douglas Stuart Makes Second Shortlist Appearance

Scottish author Douglas Stuart, who secured the Booker Prize in 2020 for Shuggie Bain, has been shortlisted for John of John. The novel traces John-Calum Macleod, a young man returning to the Outer Hebrides, and tracks family, identity and life within a traditional island community.

Full Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist

The six shortlisted novels are:

The End of Everything by M. John Harrison

The Disappearers by Marlon James

Black Bag by Luke Kennard

May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

John of John by Douglas Stuart

American author Elizabeth Strout is another prestigious name on the list. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge in 2009 and was earlier shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022. Her shortlisted novel, The Things We Never Say, is based in coastal Massachusetts.

New Authors And Records

M. John Harrison, 81, is shortlisted for The End of Everything, a speculative novel set in a post-apocalyptic coastal town. If he clinches the title, Harrison could become the oldest Booker Prize winner in the award’s history. The present record belongs to Margaret Atwood, who was 79 when she jointly won in 2019.

Rebecca Perry is the only debut novelist on the shortlist. Her historical novel May We Feed the King shifts between contemporary life and a medieval setting. Luke Kennard is shortlisted for Black Bag, a comic novel inspired by a 1960s social psychology experiment.

How were the Booker Prize 2026 Shortlists Decided?

While deciding this year’s shortlist, poet and Booker Prize judge Raymond Antrobus said, “These books, we truly believe, cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence. These are very human books.” Chair of the jury, classicist Mary Beard, praised the variety of genres and the quirkiness the shortlist possesses. “These novels range from the hilarious to the discomfiting, from the frighteningly strange to the alarmingly domestic,” she said. Writer and critic Rebecca Liu expressed that the judges wanted to carve out a list that was “full of variety, that had lots of things that were idiosyncratic, that might not be universally loved, that might draw a strong opinion”.

When Will The Winner Be Announced?

The 2026 Booker Prize winner will be declared on November 9 at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London. The judging panel is led by Mary Beard and encompasses Raymond Antrobus, Jarvis Cocker, Rebecca Liu and Patricia Lockwood.