Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics The 2026 Booker Prize longlist has been announced The 2026 list includes new works from household names Douglas Stuart, Marlon James and Elizabeth Strout as well as a few debut authors. NPR Books LISTEN & FOLLOW NPR App Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio YouTube Music RSS link Sign up for the [TITLE] Newsletter Get perks with [Podcast Title]+ Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed.
By
Meghan Collins Sullivan
NPR This year's Booker Prize longlist, announced Tuesday, includes 13 books covering a wide range of genres, from thriller to dystopian sci-fi to love story.
Two previous winners have made the prestigious list again – Douglas Stuart, who won for Shuggie Bain in 2020, and Marlon James, who took the prize in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings. Elizabeth Strout is on the list as a third-time nominee for her latest work The Things We Never Say. The longlist also includes three debut authors.
Mary Beard, chair of the Booker Prize 2026 judges, said in a statement: "Every writer on our longlist brilliantly musters the power of words on the page to take the reader to new places, to see old places from new angles, to change minds."
The Booker Prize is awarded each year to an author for a book published in English in the U.K. and/or Ireland between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30. The 2025 prize went to David Szalay for Flesh.
Six shortlisted authors will each receive £2,500, about $3,300. The winner of the prize, to be announced at a London ceremony on Nov. 9, will be awarded £50,000, a little more than $66,000.
Here is the full 2026 Booker Prize longlist:
The Shadow of the Object, Chloe Aridjis
Switzy, Emma Cline
Helen of Nowhere, Makenna Goodman
The End of Everything, M. John Harrison
The Disappearers, Marlon James
Black Bag, Luke Kennard
The Renovation, Kenan Orhan
May We Feed the King, Rebecca Perry
The Palm House, Gwendoline Riley
The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout
John of John, Douglas Stuart
All Them Dogs, Djamel White
The Vivisectors, Missouri Williams
Books We Love NPR staffers share their favorite fiction reads of 2026 so far The Book Ahead 10 new books you won't want to miss in July Booker Prize fiction Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message
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