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International Booker Prize longlist revealed

Wednesday, 25 February 2026   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

In the UK, the longlist for the 2026 International Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$95,597), has been announced.

Longlisted titles are:

  • The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran (Shida Bazyar, trans Ruth Martin, Scribe UK).
  • We Are Green and Trembling (Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, trans Robin Myers, Harvill Secker)
  • The Remembered Soldier (Anjet Daanje, trans David McKay, Scribe UK)
  • The Deserters (Mathias Énard, trans Charlotte Mandell, Fitzcarraldo Editions)
  • Small Comfort (Ia Genberg, trans Kira Josefsson, Wildfire Books)
  • She Who Remains (Rene Karabash, trans Izidora Angel, Peirene Press)
  • The Director (Daniel Kehlmann, trans Ross Benjamin, riverrun)
  • On Earth as It Is Beneath (Ana Paula Maia, trans Padma Viswanathan, Charco Press)
  • The Duke (Matteo Melchiorre, trans Antonella Lettieri, Foundry Editions)
  • The Witch (Marie NDiaye, trans Jordan Stump, MacLehose Press)
  • Women Without Men (Shahrnush Parsipur, trans Faridoun Farrokh, Penguin International Writers)
  • The Wax Child (Olga Ravn, trans Martin Aitken, Viking)
  • Taiwan Travelogue (Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, trans Lin King, And Other Stories).

This year’s longlist of 13 was drawn from 128 submitted titles, with a shortlist of 6 set to be announced on 31 March, followed by the winner on 19 May.

Natasha Brown, chair of judges, said, “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.”

This latter comment refers especially to Women Without Men and The Witch, respectively published in their original languages in 1989 and 1996.

The International Booker Prize is awarded to a book translated into English. The prize money is shared equally between the winning writer and translator, and each shortlisted writer and translator also receives £2500 (A$4778) each.

Last year’s prize was awarded to Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi (Scribe), the first collection of short stories to win the award.

 

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