The International Booker Prize is the world’s most influential award for translated fiction. In championing works from around the world that have originated in a wide range of languages, it fosters an engaged global community of writers and readers whose experiences and interests transcend national borders.
The longlist for the International Booker Prize 2026 supported by Bukhman Philanthropies was announced today, Tuesday, 24 February 2026. This year’s longlist celebrates the best works of long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026, as judged by the 2026 panel. It features ‘fresh and innovative’ stories that capture the ‘calibre and variety of translated fiction’, according to Natasha Brown, Chair of the 2026 judges.
The 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. There are bittersweet love stories and dark fairytales; fictional accounts of historic figures and events steeped in magical realism; metafictional narratives and a novel in linked stories. Covering themes ranging from witchcraft to warfare, resilience to cruelty, magic to murder, revolution to renewal, the nominated books offer explorations of our capacity to endure, resist or reinvent ourselves, and to remain hopeful in challenging times.
They feature memorable characters, including a queer Argentinian conquistador, a celebrated East Berlin mathematician dedicated to algebra and communism, a morally compromised German film director, a ‘sworn virgin’ who renounces womanhood, a child-star-turned-thief, a Japanese novelist with a ‘monstrous appetite’, an idiosyncratic Italian aristocrat and a Danish noblewoman accused of sorcery. They transport readers from a brutal prison colony in the Brazilian wilderness to an Albanian village ruled by ancient laws, from an asylum for traumatised soldiers in Belgium to an abundant garden on the outskirts of Tehran.
The longlist
- The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin
- We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Robin Myers
- The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated by David McKay
- The Deserters by Mathias Énard, translated by Charlotte Mandell
- Small Comfort by Ia Genberg, translated by Kira Josefsson
- She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel
- The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin
- On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan
- The Duke by Matteo Melchiorre, translated by Antonella Lettieri
- The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump
- Women Without Men by Shahmush Parsopur, translated by Faridoun Farrokh
- The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken
- Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King
The judges
The 2026 judging panel is chaired by award-winning author Natasha Brown. Brown is joined on the panel by writer, broadcaster and Oxford University Professor of Mathematics and for the Public Understanding of Science Marcus du Sautoy; International Booker Prize shortlisted translator Sophie Hughes; writer, Lolwe editor and bookseller Troy Onyango; and award-winning novelist and columnist Nilanjana S. Roy.
Natasha Brown, International Booker Prize 2026 Chair of judges, says:
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. The page counts range from ‘pocket-friendly’ to ‘doorstopper.’ 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.
International Booker Prize 10 Year Anniversary
In 2026, the Booker Prize Foundation is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the International Booker Prize in its current form. The first winner in 2016 was The Vegetarian by Han Kang, translated from Korean by Deborah Smith. Since then, it has promoted 10 winners in 10 original languages from Arabic to Polish, Bulgarian to Kannada. Four authors recognised by the International Booker Prize have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, including Han Kang, Jon Fosse, Annie Ernaux and Olga Tokarczuk. The prize has also helped to drive a boom in translated fiction in the UK: sales have doubled since it launched.
The 10th anniversary campaign will run alongside this year’s International Booker Prize. The campaign invites readers around the world to come together and explore this year’s nominated books – and the previous 10 winners – united by a shared love of great fiction.
The Booker Prizes are asking readers to vote for the winning book from the past decade that is their favourite and tell us why. They’re also offering
one person the chance to win a bundle of all 10 prize-winning books. The poll opened on Wednesday, 11 February and will close by 12:00 BST on Tuesday, 21 April 2026. The result will be announced in early May.
The shortlist and winner announcements
The shortlist will be announced on Tuesday, 31 March, and the winner will be announced at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London on Tuesday, 19 May.
Forthcoming events
International Booker Prize 10th anniversary event in the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, London: Friday, 8 May 2026, 7.30pm BST
Readers are invited to celebrate a decade of the International Booker Prize in an event that will feature special guests, to be announced in due course. Tickets are available now.
International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist readings event, in Bristol Beacon’s Lantern Hall, Bristol: Friday, 15 May 2026, 6.30pm
The 2026 shortlisted authors and translators will read from and discuss their nominated books at this annual event, which is this year taking place in Bristol for the first time. Run in partnership with the Translated By, Bristol festival of translation, it will be held the weekend before the winner of the International Booker Prize 2026 is announced. Tickets are available from Tuesday 24 February.
International Booker Prize 2026 winners announced: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
The announcement of the winners of the International Booker Prize 2026 will take place at a ceremony and dinner held at Tate Modern in London. The winner will also be announced via a press release, on a livestream from the event and on the Booker Prizes website and social media channels. The £50,000 prize money is divided equally between the winning author and translator.
Winners’ event at Waterstones Piccadilly, London with Natasha Brown: Thursday, 21 May, 6.30pm
The 2026 winning author and translator will appear in their first public event after the announcement, in conversation with this year’s Chair of judges and Booker Prize-longlisted author Natasha Brown at Waterstones’ flagship Piccadilly bookshop.
International Booker Prize 2026 winners’ event at Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye: Sunday, 24 May 2026, 5.30pm
Booker Prize Foundation Chief Executive Gaby Wood will be joined by one of this year’s judges, author and International Booker Prize-shortlisted translator, Sophie Hughes, in conversation with the winning author and translator/s of the International Booker Prize 2026. Tickets are on sale on the Hay Festival website here.
Details of all International Booker Prize events can be found here.
Get involved
If you work in a library or workplace and would like to promote the longlist, you can order FREE printed and digital display packs from our shop. What’s more, the Booker Prize Foundation will select one UK-based librarian to win two tickets to the ceremony at London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday, 19 May, along with an overnight stay and travel expenses, and one set of the 2026 longlisted books (terms & conditions apply).
To be in with a chance, simply sign up to receive a printed display pack by midday, Thursday, 26 February and once you receive it, please send a photo of your display to campaigns@readingagency.org.uk.
Hear from the librarian who won the Booker Prize 2025 display competition.
What do you think of the 2026 longlisted titles? Which have you read and what will be added to your TBR pile? Add your comments below, or click any title above to leave a review.
Share your thoughts with us on Facebook, X and Instagram using #InternationalBooker2026.
Keep up with all the latest news on the Booker Prizes website.
Please sign up and register for Booker Prizes updates via our Substack here, and hear what more than 29,000 readers from all over the world are saying about the longlist and more by joining the Booker Prize Book Club on Facebook.
The Booker Prize compile reading lists around themes, key calendar dates and holidays featuring past titles from the Booker Prize Library, as well as choosing a book for a Monthly Spotlight – they re excellent resources for displays and recommendations in your shop. Find them here.
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