This Thursday, September 21, marks one of the biggest moments in the global literary calendar as our judges reveal the shortlist for the Booker Prize 2023. Together, they will choose the six books that they believe represent the very best in long-form fiction published in English in the UK and Ireland this year. 

Ahead of the announcement, we’ve been thinking: how will this year’s shortlist compare with those of previous years? Are some shortlists better than others, and how well have they stood the test of time? And what about the biggest question of all: which year provided the greatest shortlist ever?

Where better a place to thrash out the answer to this last question than The Booker Prize Podcast. In this week’s episode, to be aired on Friday, October 22, hosts Jo Hamya and James Walton are joined by a man who has read every book on every Booker shortlist, Bob Jackson. Jo, James and Bob will each make a case for their two favourite shortlists from the past 54 years. After debating the merits of their six combined choices – the shortlist of shortlists – the trio eventually selected their best shortlist ever, which will be revealed later this week. They also selected the best-ever decade for Booker shortlists.

But before we reveal their choices, we’d like to know what you think. Below, you’ll find a poll where we invite you to cast your vote for the best Booker Prize shortlist of all time. And should you need a refresher on the prize’s history, we’ve compiled a handy list of every shortlist, and its respective books, alongside. The winning fan-favourite shortlist will be revealed on our social channels next week. Happy voting!

1969: Something to Answer For by P. H. Newby, Figures in a Landscape by Barry England, Impossible Object by Nicholas Mosley, The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch, The Public Image by Muriel Spark, From Scenes Like These by Gordon Williams

The Lost Man Booker Prize: Troubles by J.G Farrell, The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden, The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard, Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault, The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark, The Vivisector by Patrick White

1970: The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens, John Brown’s Body by A. L. Barker, Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen, Bruno’s Dream by Iris Murdoch, Mrs Eckdorf in O’Neill’s Hotel by William Trevor, The Conjunction by Terence Wheeler

1971: In a Free State by V. S. Naipaul, The Big Chapel by Thomas Kilroy, Briefing for a Descent into Hell by Doris Lessing, St. Urbain’s Horseman by Mordecai Richler, Goshawk Squadron by Derek Robinson, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

1972: G. by John Berger, The Bird of Night by Susan Hill, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally, Pasmore by David Storey

1973: The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell, The Dressmaker by Beryl Bainbridge, A Green Equinox by Elizabeth Mavor, The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch

1974: The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer, Holiday by Stanley Middleton, Ending Up by Kingsley Amis, The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge, In Their Wisdom by C. P. Snow

1975: Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally

1976: Saville by David Storey, An Instant in the Wind by André Brink, Rising by R. C. Hutchinson, The Doctor’s Wife by Brian Moore, King Fisher Lives by Julian Rathbone, The Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor

1977: Staying On by Paul Scott, Peter Smart’s Confessions by Paul Bailey, Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood, Shadows on our Skin by Jennifer Johnston, The Road to Lichfield by Penelope Lively, Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

1978: The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch, Jake’s Thing by Kingsley Amis, Rumours of Rain by André Brink, The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald, God on the Rocks by Jane Gardam, A Five-Year Sentence by Bernice Rubens

1979: Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald, Confederates by Thomas Keneally, A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul, Joseph by Julian Rathbone, Praxis by Fay Weldon

1980: Rites of Passage by William Golding, Earthly Powers by Anthony Burges, Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai, The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro, No Country for Young Men by Julia O’Faolain, Pascali’s Island by Barry Unsworth, A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr

1981: Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, Good Behaviour by Molly Keane, The Sirian Experiments by Doris Lessing, The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan, Rhine Journey by Ann Schlee, Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark, The White Hotel by D. M. Thomas

1982: Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally, Silence Among the Weapons by John Arden, An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd, Constance or Solitary Practices by Lawrence Durrell, The 27th Kingdom by Alice Thomas Ellis, Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo

1983: Life and Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee, Rates of Exchange by Malcolm Bradbury, Flying to Nowhere by John Fuller, The Illusionist by Anita Mason, Shame by Salman Rushdie, Waterland by Graham Swift

1984: Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner, Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard, Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes, In Custody by Anita Desai, According to Mark by Penelope Lively, Small World by David Lodge

1985: The Bone People by Keri Hulme, Illywhacker by Peter Carey, The Battle of Pollocks Crossing, The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing, Last Letters from Hav by Jan Morris, The Good Apprentice by Iris Murdoch

1986: The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Gabriel’s Lament by Paul Bailey, What’s Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies, An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro, An Insular Possession by Timothy Mo

1987: Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe, Chatterton by Peter Ackroyd, Circles of Deceit by Nina Bawden, The Colour of Blood by Brian Moore, The Book and the Brotherhood

1988: Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Care, Utz by Bruce Chatwin, The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald, Nice Work by David Lodge, The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, The Lost Father by Marina Warner

1989: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood, The Book of Evidence by John Banville, Jigsaw by Sybille Bedford, A Disaffection by James Kelman, Restoration by Rose Tremain

1990: Possession by A. S. Byatt, An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge, The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald, Amongst Women by John McGahern, Lies of Silence by Brian Moore, Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler

1991: The Famished Road by Ben Okri, Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis, The Van by Roddy Doyle, Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry, The Redundancy of Courage by Timothy Mo, Reading Turgenev by William Trevor 

1992: The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth, Serenity House by Christopher Hope, The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe, Black Dogs by Ian McEwan, Daughters of the House by Michèle Roberts

1993: Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle; Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer; Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff; Remembering Babylon by David Malouf; Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

1994: How late it was, how late by James Kelman, Reef by Romesh Gunesekera, Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah, The Folding Star by Alan Hollinghurst, Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown, Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh

1995: The Ghost Road by Pat Barker, In Every Face I Meet by Justin Cartwright, The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie, Morality Play by Barry Unsworth, The Riders by Tim Winton

1996: Last Orders by Graham Swift, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge, Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane, The Orchard on Fire by Shena Mackay, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

1997: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Quarantine by Jim Crace, The Underground Man by Mick Jackson, Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty, Europa by Tim Parks, The Essence of the Thing by Madeleine St John

1998: Amsterdam by Ian McEwan, Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge, England, England by Julian Barnes, The Industry of Souls by Martin Booth, Breakfast on Pluto by Patrick McCabe, The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills

1999: Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee, Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai, Headlong by Michael Frayn, Our Fathers by Andrew O’Hagan, The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif, The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín

2000: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi, The Keepers of Truth by Michael Collins, When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro, English Passengers by Matthew Kneale, The Deposition of Father McGreevy by Brian O’Doherty

2001: True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Oxygen by Andrew Miller, number9dream by David Mitchell, The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert, Hotel World by Ali Smith

2002: Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry, Unless by Carol Shields, The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor, Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, Dirt Music by Tim Winton

2003: Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre, Brick Lane by Monica Ali, Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut, Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller, Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall

2004: The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst, Bitter Fruit by Achmat Dangor, The Electric Michaelangelo by Sarah Hall, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, The Master by Colm Tóibín, I’ll Go to Bed at Noon by Gerard Woodward

2005: The Sea by John Banville, Arthur & George by Julian Barnes, A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Accidental by Ali Smith, On Beauty by Zadie Smith

2006: The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, The Secret River by Kate Grenville, Carry Me Down by M. J. Hyland, In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar, Mother’s Milk by Edward St Aubyn, The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

2007: The Gathering by Anne Enright, Darkmans by Nicola Barker, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones, On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, Animal’s People by Indra Sinha

2008: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry, Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant, The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher, A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

2009: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (4th Estate), The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt, Summertime by J. M. Coetzee, The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds, The Glass Room by Simon Mawer, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

2010: The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson, Parrot and Olivier in Americar by Peter Carey, Room by Emma Donoghue, In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut, The Long Song by Andrea Levy, C by Tom McCarthy

2011: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, Snowdrops by A.D, Miller

2012: Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, Swimming Home by Deborah Levy, The Lighthouse by Alison Moore, Umbrella by Will Self, The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil

2013:The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo, Harvest by Jim Crace, The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín

2014: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, J  by Howard Jacobson, The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee, How to Be Both by Ali Smith

2015: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James, Satin Island by Tom McCarthy, The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma, The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota, A Spool of Blue Thread  by Anne Tyler, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

2016: The Sellout by Paul Beatty, Hot Milk by Deborah Levy, His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet, Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, All That Man Is by David Szalay, Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

2017: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster, History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund, Exit West  by Mohsin Hamid, Elmet by Fiona Mozley, Autumn by Ali Smith

2018: Milkman by Anna Burns, Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, Everything Under by Daisy Johnson, The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner, The Overstory by Richard Powers, The Long Take by Robin Robertson

2019: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann, An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma, Quichotte by Salman Rushdie, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

2020: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, The New Wilderness by Diane Cook, This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga, Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi, The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste, Real Life by Brandon Taylor

2021: The Promise by Damon Galgut, A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam, No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed, Bewilderment by Richard Powers, Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

2022: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo, The Trees by Percival Everett, Treacle Walker by Alan Garner, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout