The International Booker Prize shortlist was announced today and features six books that reverberate with history, humanity, heartbreak and hope!
Browse our International Booker Prize List 2026 collection to secure your copies. We have all the shortlisted titles in-stock, or currently on the way to Book Hero - so order now to secure your place in the queue.
The winning book will be announced on Tuesday, 19 May 2026 at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London.
The Director
By Daniel Kehlmann
[Germany, in German]
From 'one of the brightest, most pleasure-giving writers at work today' (Jeffrey Eugenides), a visionary tale inspired by the life of the 20th century film director G.W. Pabst, who left Europe for Hollywood to resist the Nazis and then returned to his homeland with his wife and young son and began making films for the German Reich.
The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran
By Shida Bazyar
[German, in German]
The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran begins in 1979. Behsad, a young communist revolutionary, fights with his friends for a new order after the Shah's expulsion. He tells of sparking hope, of clandestine political actions, and of how he finds the love of his life in the courageous, intelligent Nahid.
She Who Remains
By Rene Karabash
[Bulgaria, in Bulgarian]
High in the Accursed Mountains, in a village ruled by the ancient laws of the Kanun, Bekija escapes an arranged marriage by becoming a sworn virgin, renouncing her womanhood to live as a man. Her decision sets off a brutal chain of events, destroying her family and separating her from the one she loves the most.
Taiwan Travelogue
By Yang Shuang-Zi
[Taiwan, in Mandarin]
A bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history, and power.
Also the winner of the 2024 International Book Award for Translated Literature.
The Witch
By Marie NDiaye
[France, in French]
The Witch brings the mysteries of womanhood and motherhood into sharp relief and leaves us teetering on the edge, unbalanced by questions as seemingly unbreakable relationships break down left and right.
On Earth As It Is Beneath
By Ana Paula Maia
[Brazil, in Portuguese]
Ana Paula Maia has once again delivered a bracing vision of our potential for violence, and our collective failure to account for the consequences of our social and political action, or inaction. No crime is committed out of view for this novelist, and her raw, brutal power enlists us all as witness.