Booker Prize winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart are among 13 semifinalists announced Tuesday for the 2026 edition of the prestigious fiction award, according to ABC News.
The judges considered 163 novels before narrowing the field to a list that jury chair Mary Beard described as literary “dynamite.” The semifinalists include James’ “The Disappearers,” Stuart’s “John of John,” and Elizabeth Strout’s “The Things We Never Say.”
James won the Booker Prize in 2015 for “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” and Stuart took the award in 2020 for “Shuggie Bain.” Strout was a finalist in 2022 for “Oh William!” and previously won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009 for “Olive Kitteridge.”
The shortlist also includes debut writers and authors from Britain, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and the United States. The judges will announce six finalists on Sept. 22, and the winner will be revealed Nov. 9 in London.
