The Dublin Literary Award shortlist has been announced. From the 69 titles nominated in November 2025, to the longlist of 20 titles released in February 2026, the shortlist of six books has been derived. The shortlist is:
French author Binet is best known for his debut novel HHhH. Perspectives is a murder mystery set in Renaissance Florence. Jacopo da Pontormo has been stabbed in a church. Guards searching his quarters find obscene artworks and a link to the Medici family.
Magdalena Blazevic - In Late Summer
Written from the perspective of a 14 year old girl killed in a Bosnian massacre in August 1993. In an idyllic village childhood friends Ivana and Dunja are enjoying their summer when war begins. A poetic novel of the trauma of war.
Set in Cairo in the 1960s, Tarek has always had his life carved out for him. He is a doctor, expected to marry and have children like his father. But when he meets Ali, Tarek's life trajectory changes. Decades later Tarek is working in Montreal, but someone is writing about him. This novel was shortlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
Brigitte Giraud - Live Fast
An autobiographical novel of loss follows a woman trying to make sense of her partner's death in a motorcycle accident. The widow reflects on their twenty years together and wonders if there was a way to avoid this tragedy.
From multi-award winning Scottish author, best known for her Seasonal Quartet and Women's Prize winning How to Be Both, Gliff is a dystopian novel set in a world of high surveillance and environmental degradation. Two siblings flee an authoritarian state, escaping on a stolen horse named Gliff.
Ocean Vyong - The Emperor of Gladness
A nineteen year old stands on a bridge preparing to jump. An elderly widow stops him and he finds meaning in becoming her caretaker. Vyong's novel explores how this unlikely pair develop a relationship which cures the loneliness of people on the fringe of society.
A nineteen year old stands on a bridge preparing to jump. An elderly widow stops him and he finds meaning in becoming her caretaker. Vyong's novel explores how this unlikely pair develop a relationship which cures the loneliness of people on the fringe of society.
The shortlist culled a lot of interesting titles, including works by Sally Rooney, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Alan Hollinghurst, Karen Russell and Elif Shafak. Of this shortlist, I have no idea which way the judges will go.
The winner of the 100,000 Euro prize will be announced in May 2026.