The Booker Prize Longlist will be announced on 28 July 2026. It has been a wonderful year for books, but always a challenge to predict which novels will be chosen for the longlist as the Booker is known for its surprises.
To be eligible, the novel has to have been written in English and published in UK/Ireland between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026. While I am not entirely sure when novels were published in UK/Ireland, I am going to take a wild guess at who might appear on the longlist.
- Virginia Evans - The Correspondent
- Rozie Kelly - Kingfisher
- Min Jee Lee - American Hagwon
- Ben Lerner - Transcription
- Valerie Luiselli - Beginning Middle End
- Siang Lu - Ghost Cities
- Megha Majumdar - A Guardian and a Thief
- Daniel Mueenuddin - This is Where the Serpent Lives
- Doireann Ni Ghriofa - Said the Dead
- Maggie O'Farrell - Land
- Ann Patchett - Whistler
- Elizabeth Strout - The Things We Never Say
- Douglas Stuart - John of John
I had to narrow down my list, so I took off Yann Martel (Son of Nobody), George Saunders (Vigil), Daisy Johnson (Long Wave), Gwendolyn Riley (The Palm House), Marlon James (The Disappearers), Tayari Jones (Kin), Deborah Levy (My Year with Gertrude Stein), Julian Barnes (Departure(s)), Brandon Taylor (Minor Black Figures), Emily St John Mandel (Exit Party) and Barbara Kingsolver (Partita). It was really hard to whittle my list down to the 'Booker's dozen', and with my luck the ones I have removed will be the ones that make the list.
From my longlist, I have read the books by Evans, O'Farrell and Strout, and am working my way through the Douglas Stuart. I am keen to read the others, so I would be happy if they make the cut. Stuart's John of John is definitely a contender for this award, and at this premature stage is my pick for the win.
The judging panel this year consists of the legendary queen of classics Mary Beard (chair), writer Raymond Antrobus, musician Jarvis Cocker, journalist Rebecca Liu and Booker shortlisted author Patricia Loockwood. I look forward to seeing their selections and how well (or not) I guessed.
The other thing I think is great is that the Booker is going to shift its eligibility dates next year. The new window for publication will shift to be from October to July, which means that regular folk like me can get access to all the titles before the shortlist is revealed. In the past, judges had early access to books that would be published up to the end date, and it meant that readers could not get them during the season. Indeed, some of the haven't been available in Australia until the following year, so this is a good move.
The longlist will be announced on 28 July, followed by the shortlist on 22 September and the winner announcement on 9 November 2026.