I've read the full Booker Prize shortlist 2026 – this is my winning book
The Standard's journalism is supported by our readers.
asserted
journalism → read → readers
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
uncertain
we → purchase → commission
The winner of the 2026 Booker Prize will be announced this evening during the ceremony at London’s Old Billingsgate, chaired by head judge Mary Beard.
asserted
winner → announce → Beard
The shortlist, whittled down from the Booker Dozen, includes past winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart, alongside previous shortlistee Elizabeth Strout.
asserted
shortlist → whittle → Strout
British authors, including science fiction maestro M. John Harrison, dominate the list, which also includes two debut novelists, Luke Kennard and Rebecca Perry.
asserted
which → include → novelists
The six titles transport readers around the world and throughout history, from Medieval England to 1990’s Isle of Harris, contemporary Maine and 1980’s Jamaica.
asserted
titles → transport → Harris
And like many other book lovers, I’ve been working my way through the shortlist.
asserted
I → work → shortlist
All six novels are entirely different, but connected through masculinity in crisis.
asserted
novels → connect → crisis
In The Things We Never Say, Artie is a high school history teacher struggling with loneliness and isolation as the US hurtles towards another Trump presidency, while in Black Bag, a struggling, self-deprecating actor finds solace in hiding behind a leather sack in the name of an acting gig.
asserted
actor → say → gig
May We Feed The King transports us to a Medieval court where a reluctant king’s inaction is at odds with the era’s hyper-masculine expectations, while The End of Everything sees men stripped of their economic, paternal and institutional power in the wake of societal collapse.
The Disappearers paints a harrowing portrait of homophobia in 1980’s Jamaica and gay men’s alienation, while John of John explores a father and son relationship where both are keeping secrets from one another.
uncertain
both → feed → one
It’s these two epic, sweeping novels that lead the Booker Prize predictions for 2026.
asserted
that → ’ → 2026
Anyone who’s read all six books will struggle to name a winner – all are thoroughly deserving.
asserted
all → read → winner
Black Bag made me laugh out loud with its masterclass in writing surrealist comedy, while The Things We Never Say is Strout at her emotional, observational best (the esteemed author is long overdue Booker recognition).
asserted
author → make → best
James is known for his violent stories – he won the Booker in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings – and his latest is no exception.
asserted
latest → know → Killings
The graphic descriptions of mob violence will make you wince, but you can’t and shouldn’t look away.
asserted
you → make → violence
Over two decades, the novel follows the victims of a homophobic attack on their theatre troupe as they try to move on and survive in a society that wants them dead.
asserted
them → follow → society
With homophobia still illegal in Jamaica, it’s an eye-opening, brutal read that will long stay with me.
asserted
that → ’ → me
While ‘hard’ books are no less rewarding than an ‘easier’ novel, I’d likely not reread The Disappearers – but I’d pick up John of John again in a heartbeat.
asserted
I → reread → heartbeat
A future classic that combines tough themes with humour and brevity, the novel is my winner of the Booker Prize 2026.
asserted
novel → combine → Prize
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the ceremony – and where to read each shortlisted book.
asserted
you → ’ → book
Booker Prize 2026 shortlist
'John of John' by Douglas Stuart, published by Picador
Douglas Stuart won the Booker Prize in 2020 with Shuggie Bain, but that doesn’t rule out a second win.
asserted
that → publish → win
John of John is the Scottish author’s best yet, exploring his signature themes of masculinity, working-class Scottish life and family relationships; this time on the Isle of Harris.
asserted
John → explore → Harris
The novel begins with 22-year-old art graduate John-Callum returning home to the isolated fishing, weaving and crofting community.
asserted
Callum → begin → community
With his dyed red hair, ‘strange clothes’ and artistic leanings, Cal is an affront to his father John, a devout Protestant, sheep farmer and a deacon in the Presbyterian church.
asserted
Cal → dye → church
John is reluctantly living with his sharp-tongued Glaswegian mother-in-law, Ella (a delightful character), and is deeply troubled by his son’s free expression.
asserted
John → live → expression
Little does Callum know, his father is hiding a secret of his own.
asserted
father → know → own
An intimate portrait of a close-knit community in the rugged Outer Hebrides, John of John explores the tension between duty and religion, and desire and love.
asserted
John → knit → duty
'The Disappearers' by Marlon James, published by Hamish Hamilton
This is a sucker-punch of a novel.
asserted
This → publish → novel
An epic of more than 600 pages, it took me longer to get through than my usual reading pace.
asserted
it → take → pace
The topic is heavy and the story is heartbreaking – I picked it up between other books for relief.
asserted
I → pick → relief
But oh, am I happy I finished it – and its characters won’t leave readers easily.
asserted
characters → finish → readers
The Disappearers returns to the same real-world setting of unstable 1980’s Jamaica, as reimagined in James’ previous Booker Prize-winning novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings.
asserted
Disappearers → return → Killings
The book focuses on eight gay men targeted in a brutal mob attack during a play rehearsal in late eighties Kingston.
asserted
book → focus → Kingston
Over two decades, it traces the victims as one seeks revenge, others to forget and some to entirely disappear.
asserted
some → trace → revenge
The novel is as graphic about violence – the attack itself is narrated by the attackers, giving the reader a warped sense of the event – as it is about sex.
asserted
it → narrate → sex
James paints a profoundly disturbing portrait of Jamaica in this era, where sexuality could be a death sentence, and disappearing could be salvation.
uncertain
disappearing → paint → era
The masterful writing picks up different narratives, from one character's experience as a black, gay student at a British university in the 1950’s to a young man’s disownment from his family.
asserted
writing → pick → family
A more than deserving recipient of the Booker Prize, it’s the favourite to win.
asserted
it → ’ → Prize
'The Things We Never Say' by Elizabeth Strout, published by Viking
The American author Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, The Things We Never Say, introduces us to a new character in the esteemed author's Massachusetts multiverse.
asserted
We → say → multiverse
Set in an unnamed coastal town during the 2024 presidential election, Artie Dam is a high school history teacher who is grappling with middle-aged ennui.
asserted
who → Set → ennui
…and 39 more, not listed.
The Aporia
