The much-anticipated Booker Prize 2026 shortlist is here. Whittled down from the Booker Dozen, past winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart feature, alongside previous shortlistee Elizabeth Strout.

British authors dominate the list, which also includes two debut novelists. The titles transport readers around the world and throughout history, from Medieval England to 1990’s Isle of Harris, contemporary Maine and 1980’s Jamaica.

Selected by a judging panel chaired by Mary Beard, the classicist said the narratives range from “the hilarious to the discomfiting, from the powerfully shocking to the intriguingly understated”, representing “writing at its best”. Beard added that the novels “brilliantly muster the power of words to take the reader to new places, to see old places from new angles, to change minds.”

The panel also includes poet Raymond Antrobus, musician Jarvis Cocker, journalist Rebecca Loi, and Booker-shortlisted novelist Patricia Lockwood. From dystopian fiction and contemporary realism to campus drama and historical fiction, the six authors explore humour, heartbreak and satire.

The winner will be announced on Monday 9 November 2026, when the crowned author will receive £50,000. The only requirements are that the book must be a work of long-form fiction originally written in English (the author can be of any nationality) and published in the UK or Ireland between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026.

Past winners of the prestigious literary prize have included Hilary Mantel for Salman Rushdie for , and Arundhati Roy for The God of Small Things.

In 2025, David Szalay took home the prize for , which has since enjoyed the same mainstream success as previous recent winners (Douglas Stuart) and Samantha Harvey). Some Booker Prize winners even get adapted for film (see The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro or Life of Pi by Yann Martel).

Upon the longlist announcement, many book enthusiasts challenged themselves to read all 13 books ahead of the November ceremony. With the clock ticking, delve into both the shortlist and Booker Dozen below, including where to buy each book.

The American author Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, The Things We Never Say, is a standalone story set in coastal Massachusetts during the 2024 presidential election. Artie Dam is a high school history teacher who is grappling with middle-aged ennui. Then, a brush with death and the unearthing of a decade-long secret change everything.

Douglas Stuart won the Booker Prize in 2020 with , but will his third novel bring the Scottish author similar literary glory? John of John explores his signature themes of masculinity, working-class Scottish life and family relationships; this time on the Isle of Harris. It begins with the homecoming of John-Callum, a 22-year-old art graduate who is at direct odds with his devout Protestant father John, a sheep farmer and a deacon in the small community's Presbyterian church.

The End of Everything by M. John Harrison introduces us to beachcomber Phillip Tennent and his artist aunt Marnie. Both reside in a post-catastrophe coastal English town. A biological discovery forces them to venture inland, where an alien-like enemy known as the iGhetti are at war with a fractured Europe. The author is 81 years old and could go on to become the oldest winner in the prize’s history.

Previous Booker Prize winner Marlon James has been nominated again for his latest novel, The Disappearers. Though a standalone novel, it returns to the same real-world setting of unstable 1980’s Jamaica, as reimagined in A Brief History of Seven Killings. The novel focuses on eight gay men targeted in a brutal mob attack during a play rehearsal in late eighties Kingston – it’s garnered critical acclaim across the board.

A historical novel that jumps between the present day and a medieval village, May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry follows a modern museum curator and a past monarch. As the curator works on a reconstruction of the king’s private chambers, she becomes increasingly obsessed with his story, filling in the gaps with her own imagination. In his day, the king struggles with the burdens of unexpected power.

A campus comedy, draws inspiration from a real 1960s experiment. The novel follows an out-of-work actor who accepts work for Dr Blend, a university professor conducting a psychological experiment. The job? They’ll be zipped into an oversized bag to sit in the back of a hall during a series of autumn term lectures.

Exploring magic and mortality, with praise from Zadie Smith and Deborah Levy, The Shadow of the Object follows Flora on a visit home to Mexico, where the family dog bites her hand. In hospital, she engages in a series of dream-like conversations with an elderly German patient, which continues to alter her perception of reality when back in London.

Emma Cline’s new novel Switzy tackles a difficult subject with complexity and beautiful prose. It follows an ageing man’s final journey to a clinic in Zurich, Switzerland. Travelling with notebooks to jog his degenerating mind, he stops over in London for a last supper with his estranged adult daughter and makes a pit stop in France for a reunion with an old friend, while fleeting memories of his life invade every moment.

Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman follows a disgraced literature professor known only to the reader as “man”. Disgusted by modern politics and feeling persecuted by his peers, he views a remote house with a realtor, intending to flee city life for the countryside. While learning about the mystical former owner, Helen, he grapples with his own romanticised ego, crumbling marriage and antiquated worldviews.

by Kenan Orhan explores a family’s experience with exile and Alzheimers. The surrealist, political debut follows Dilara, a Turkish exile living in Italy. Her bathroom renovation has been inexplicably modelled as a prison cell – and she’s an inmate. Forcing her to confront grief, memory and migration, she reflects on caring for her aging father and hypochondriact husband.

A slender, sombre novel, explores friendship and memory in Riley’s signature precise, understated prose. Narrated by Laura, a writer reflecting on difficult relationships and past trauma, the book captures how conversations and shared experiences shape identity.

A gripping literary crime story set in Dublin’s violent underworld, follows Tony Ward, who returns home after years in exile following a gangland killing. Exploring masculinity and sexuality with the pacing of a thriller, Djamel White is a new voice in Irish fiction.

Set in a university city where political conflict is rife, by Missouri Williams follows Agathe, a withdrawn graduate and assistant to a professor, whose life is disrupted when she is instructed to befriend a controversial student. Exploring institutional decay, power dynamics and personal trauma, it’s a philosophical read.

Read more: Best new books to read this autumn