International Booker Prize season begins! The 2026 shortlist has been announced:

  • Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Chinese by Lin King (And Other Stories)
  • The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated from Danish by Martin Aitken (Viking)
  • Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh (Penguin International Writers)
  • The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump (MacLehose Press)
  • The Duke by Matteo Melchiorre, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri (Foundry Editions)
  • On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maria, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan (Charco Press)
  • The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin (riverrun)
  • She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel (Peirene Press)
  • Small Comfort by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson (Wildfire Books)
  • The Deserters by Mathias Énard, translated from French by Charlotte Mandell (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
  • The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay (Scribe UK)
  • We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated from Spanish by Robin Myers (Harvill)
  • The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin (Scribe UK)

I don’t have much to say as I hadn’t heard of most of the books. But there are quite a few familiar authors there, and I’m looking forward to exploring the list. As always, I will be reading along with the Shadow Panel, and writing about the books here as and when I can. Off we go!