International Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist announced on 31 March

Key facts

• The International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist was announced on 31 March, featuring six books translated from five different languages.
• The winner of the prize will be announced on 19 May at the Tate Modern in London.
• The prize money of £50,000 will be split equally between the winning author and the translator.
• Yáng Shuāng-zǐ became the first Taiwanese writer to be shortlisted for the prize for the novel Taiwan Travelogue.
• The judging panel was chaired by novelist Natasha Brown and included Indian-born novelist Nilanjana S. Roy.
• The shortlist was selected from a total of 128 submissions by a five-member panel.
• The shortlisted books include The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar and She Who Remains by Rene Karabash.
• Other finalists are The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, and The Witch by Marie NDiaye.
• The Witch, originally published in 1996, is the oldest book on the list and was translated from French by Jordan Stump.
• Taiwan Travelogue, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King, previously won the 2024 National Book Award for translated literature.