Chair of judges Mary Beard said each of the 13 books in contention for the £50,000 award ‘takes the reader to new places’

• Comment: This Booker longlist may have two previous winners, but it’s keen to experiment

Douglas Stuart and Marlon James, two previous winners of the Booker, have been named on this year’s longlist, alongside three-time nominee Elizabeth Strout, in a collection that “rewards risk”.

The 13 novels selected for the 2026 prize, announced on Tuesday, feature authors of seven nationalities across three continents, with almost half from the UK. Ten of the writers are appearing on a Booker longlist for the first time, including three debut novelists: Kenan Orhan, Rebecca Perry and Djamel White.