The Booker Prize honors the best work of fiction written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland annually. It began in 1969 and has become an honor that can catapult a book and an author’s career.

Five judges comprise the panel that determines the finalists for the prize. They include authors, publishers, journalists, politicians, artists, and more. This year’s panelists are poet Mary Beard, who chairs the panel; writer and educator Raymond Antrobus; musician Jarvis Cocker; journalist Rebecca Liu; and writer Patricia Lockwood.

The Booker Prize honors the best fiction by writers of any nationality written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026. Longlists include 12 or 13 titles and the 2026 Booker Prize longlist was shared in late July. Today, the committee announces their shortlist of titles. Each shortlisted author receives £2,500, or about $3,300. The winner of the 2026 Booker Prize, announced November 9, will take home £50,000, or about $67,000.

This year’s shortlist includes six titles, and it’s the second time in a decade where male authors outnumber women. Two of the shortlisted authors–Marlon James and Douglas Stuart–have the chance to become the fifth multiple winner of the Booker Prize. One author, M. John Harrison, has the chance to be named the oldest author to win.

Here’s the 2026 Booker Prize shortlist:

• Black Bag by Luke Kennard
• The Disappearers by Marlon James
• The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
• May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
• John of John by Douglas Stuart
• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

Check out the Booker Prize website for more information about the awards, the judges, and past honorees. Keep your eyes peeled for this year’s winner of the Booker Prize, coming November 9.

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