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 shortlist for the International Booker Prize 2026 supported by Bukhman Philanthropies was announced today, Tuesday, 31 March 2026. This year’s shortlist 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.
Encapsulating a range of international experiences, with many drawing on real moments from history as
inspiration, the six books transport readers from Japan-ruled Taiwan in the 1930s to Nazi-controlled Europe
during the Second World War, from magic and domesticity in France in the 1990s to the turmoil and after-effects of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, from a brutal prison colony in a remote corner of Brazil to a strict patriarchal community in the Albanian Alps.
A diverse cast of richly realised characters is captured in the shortlist, including a suburban witch, a morally
compromised filmmaker, a bloodthirsty prison warden, a sworn virgin with a new identity, a young novelist and her interpreter who share a passion for food, and a multigenerational family of Iranian emigrants. Find out everything you need to know about the shortlist and what the judges say about the 2026 shortlist.
The shortlist
- The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin
- 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 Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump
- 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:
‘Our shortlist offers readers a six-stop tour of highlights from the world of translated fiction.
‘With narratives that capture moments from across the past century, these books reverberate with history. While there’s heartbreak, brutality, and isolation among these stories, their lasting effect is energising. Rereading each book, we judges found hope, insight and burning humanity – along with unforgettable characters to whom I’m sure readers will return again and again.
‘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.
‘Make space on your TBRs; this is an unmissable reading list.’
International Booker Prize 10th 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.
International Booker Prize 10th anniversary celebrations include a one-off public event at London’s Southbank Centre in May and a readers’ poll to find a favourite winner from the last decade. Readers can vote in the poll until midday on Tuesday, 21 April 2026 on the Booker Prizes website here. The winner will be revealed in early May.
The winner announcement
The announcement of the winning book will take place on Tuesday, 19 May 2026 at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London. The announcement will be livestreamed on the Booker Prizes social media channels.
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. Tickets are available now.
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 shortlist, you can order FREE digital display pack from our shop.
Are you part of a book club? Be in the chance of winning a set of the shortlist.
Hear from the librarian who won the Booker Prize 2025 display competition.
What do you think of the 2026 shortlisted 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 are excellent resources for displays and recommendations in your shop. Find them here.
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