2026 Booker Prize longlist unveiled: Full list of 13 novels

The longlist for the 2026 Booker Prize was unveiled on Tuesday (July 28), featuring 13 novels that span literary fiction, historical epics, speculative narratives and psychological dramas.

The prestigious award, which honours the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland, drew 163 submissions this year before the judges narrowed the field to the "Booker Dozen".

The judging panel, chaired by classicist Mary Beard and comprising Raymond Antrobus, Jarvis Cocker, Rebecca Liu and Patricia Lockwood, described this year's selection as "dynamite".

Also read: How the 2025 Booker Prize shortlist spotlights mostly established authors

"We are confident that our longlist of books has something for everyone," Beard said, noting that the novels transport readers from Mexico City and 1980s Jamaica to a remote Scottish island, an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland and the United States on the eve of the 2024 presidential election.

Former winners return

Three previous Booker shortlistees feature on this year's longlist, including two former winners.

Scottish-American author Douglas Stuart, who won the 2020 Booker Prize for his debut Shuggie Bain, returns with John of John. Set on a remote Scottish island, the novel follows a young gay man returning to his deeply religious family and explores themes of identity, faith and belonging.

Another former winner, Marlon James, is back with The Disappearers, a sprawling 600-page novel set in 1980s Kingston, Jamaica. The book, the longest on this year's longlist, moves away from his acclaimed Dark Star fantasy trilogy to tell the story of eight gay men targeted by a violent mob during a theatre rehearsal.

Also read: David Szalay wins Booker Prize 2025 for 'Flesh', edging out Kiran Desai

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout has been longlisted for The Things We Never Say, which follows a high school history teacher in Massachusetts dealing with post-pandemic isolation, ageing, buried family secrets and anxiety surrounding the 2024 US presidential election.

Strong debut

Debut authors have also made a strong impression this year.

Rebecca Perry, who recently won the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, has been recognised for May We Feed the King. Best known as an award-winning poet, Perry makes her fiction debut with a lyrical fable about power, loyalty and human desire, centred on a curator uncovering the forgotten story of a medieval king.

Kenan Orhan's debut novel, The Renovation, follows a psychologist caring for her father with dementia in Italy while confronting unexpected upheaval. The Turkish-American writer blends themes of memory, transformation and resistance in a politically layered narrative.

At 28, Djamel White is the youngest writer on the list. His debut, All Them Dogs, follows a man returning to west Dublin after spending five years on the run following a fatal gang fight, combining crime fiction with an exploration of family ties and social realities.

Literary fiction

Emma Cline, known for The Girls, returns with Switzy, a psychological novel about a wealthy man travelling to an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.

Missouri Williams's The Vivisectors blends philosophical fiction with dark existential themes, following a graduate student in a decaying university city overrun by wild plants.

Chloe Aridjis's The Shadow of the Object centres on an unexpected friendship formed in a Mexico City hospital, weaving together art, memory and visual psychology.

Also read: Yang Shuang-zi’s ‘Taiwan Travelogue’ first Mandarin novel to win International Booker

Poet-turned-novelist Luke Kennard has been recognised for Black Bag, a darkly comic novel about an unemployed actor hired for an unusual psychological experiment.

Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House examines long-term friendship, family tensions and the complexities of human relationships through her trademark sparse and sharply observed prose.

The oldest author on this year's longlist is M. John Harrison, 81, whose post-apocalyptic novel The End of Everything highlights the prize's increasing recognition of speculative literary fiction.

Meanwhile, Makenna Goodman's Helen of Nowhere is the shortest book on the list at just over 140 pages. Despite its length, the novel has been praised for its minimalist style and emotionally charged exploration of isolation and domestic life.

2026 Booker Prize Longlist

The Shadow of the Object

Switzy

Helen of Nowhere

The End of Everything

The Disappearers

Black Bag

The Renovation

May We Feed the King

The Palm House

The Things We Never Say

John of John

All Them Dogs

The Vivisectors

What happens next?

The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 22, with the winner to be revealed on November 9. Each shortlisted author will receive 2,500 British pounds (About Rs 3.17 lakh) and a specially bound edition of their book, while the winner will take home the Booker Prize trophy and 50,000 British pounds (About 53 lakh).

Also read: International Booker Prize shortlist: Six novels of exile, resistance and human defiance

The Booker Prize is awarded annually to the best work of long-form fiction written in English and published in the UK or Ireland, regardless of the writer's nationality. It is distinct from the International Booker Prize, which honours books translated into English.

Earlier this year, the 2026 International Booker Prize was awarded to Taiwan Travelogue by Taiwanese author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin by Lin King. Last year's Booker Prize winner was British-Hungarian author David Szalay for his novel Flesh.