Booker Prize shortlist announced; Marlon James and Douglas Stuart have chance to become 5th multiple winner

Marlon James and Douglas Stuart have a chance to become only the fifth authors to win the Booker Prize twice after both were named Tuesday (September 22, 2026) on the shortlist for arguably the U.K.’s most prestigious fiction accolade.

Judges of the award whittled down the 13 semifinalists announced in July to six on Tuesday (September 22) and said the shortlisted books are “moving, pacey, funny, violent, intriguing, horrifying and hopeful.” They were selected from an original 163 submissions.

The Booker Prize celebrates the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the U.K. and/or Ireland between October 2025 and September 2026. The winner stands to win £50,000 ($67,000) and a trophy named Iris, so-called after the 1978 winner Iris Murdoch.