Booker Prize longlist 2026: Elizabeth Strout and Douglas Stuart among 13 authors recognised

Elizabeth Strout, Douglas Stuart, Marlon James and Rebecca Perry are among the authors who have been longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize.

The 13 chosen books include novels set in Mexico City, a remote Scottish island, an assissted suicide clinic in Zurich, 1980s Jamaica, and Massachussetts before the 2024 US election.

Chair of the judges Mary Beard described the 13 novels as “dynamite”, adding: “We are confident that our longlist of books has something for everyone.”

The longlist, referred to as the Booker Dozen, will be whittled down to a shortlist on 22 September, before the winner is announced on 9 November.

The annual Booker Prize is the literary world’s most prestigious award, recognising long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

The six shortlisted authors will receive £2,500 each and a specially bound edition of their book, while the eventual winner will receive a trophy and £50,000 in prize money.

High-profile authors who missed this year’s longlist include Maggie O’Farrell, Ann Patchett, John Lanchester, Deborah Levy and Julian Barnes, who many predicted would be recognised for his final book Departure(s).