The prestigious literary award, which recognizes works of fiction written in English and published in the U.K. or Ireland, selected three debut authors alongside multiple returning finalists.
Booker Prize Longlist Highlights Past Winners and Debut Authors
According to the Booker Prize organizers, this year’s 13-book longlist includes two previous winners returning for another shot at the prize. Douglas Stuart, who won the 2020 award for Shuggie Bain, made the list for John of John, while Marlon James, the 2015 winner for A Brief History of Seven Killings, was selected for The Disappearers. Elizabeth Strout secured her spot as a third-time nominee for her latest work, The Things We Never Say.
Mary Beard, chair of the Booker Prize 2026 judges, described the selected works through an official 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,” Beard said.
Full 2026 Booker Prize Longlist
The 13 titles and authors named to the longlist cover a wide narrative scope, featuring both established literary figures and three debut writers:
- The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis
- Switzy by Emma Cline
- Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman
- The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
- The Disappearers by Marlon James
- Black Bag by Luke Kennard
- The Renovation by Kenan Orhan
- May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
- The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
- The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
- John of John by Douglas Stuart
- All Them Dogs by Djamel White
- The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams
Prize Timeline and Next Steps
The Booker Prize is awarded each year for a work of fiction published between October 1 and September 30. The 2025 prize was awarded 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.
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