The International Booker Prize 2026 nominated author and translator discuss how real life feeds into fiction, why translation cultivates empathy, and the writers that ignited their love of books
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The authors and translators shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026 answer questions about their inspirations and influences, and the power of translated fiction
The shortlist for the International Booker Prize 2026, supported by Bukhman Philanthropies, features stories of a suburban witch, a morally compromised filmmaker, a bloodthirsty prison warden, a sworn virgin with a new identity, a novelist and an interpreter with a shared passion for food, and a multigenerational family of Iranian emigrants.
The list is made up of authors and translators representing eight countries (Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Taiwan, the UK and the United States) and four continents: Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
As Natasha Brown, Chair of this year’s judging panel, says, ‘With narratives that capture moments from across the past century, these books reverberate with history. While there’s heartbreak, brutality and isolation among these stories, their lasting effect is energising.’
You can read interviews with the authors and translators shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026 here.
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