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Booker longlist of 13: Douglas Stuart and Marlon James return, three debuts make the cut

The 2026 Booker Prize longlist was announced in London on Tuesday, July 28: 13 novels chosen from 163 submissions by a panel chaired by the classicist Mary Beard, alongside Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Raymond Antrobus, Patricia Lockwood and Rebecca Liu. The Guardian called it “Brit-heavy”, with almost half the authors from the UK, and noted that ten writers are on a Booker longlist for the first time.

Two former winners return: Marlon James with The Disappearers, about a homophobic mob attack in 1980s Jamaica, and Douglas Stuart with John of John. Elizabeth Strout earns her third nomination. The debuts are Kenan Orhan, Rebecca Perry and Djamel White, who at 28 is the youngest; M John Harrison, 81, is the oldest.

“Great books have never been written to a single formula” — Mary Beard, via ThePrint

India's ThePrint listed the authors' origins (England, Ireland, Scotland, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and the US) and said the judges read for seven months. The Deccan Chronicle focused on the money: £50,000 for the winner and £2,500 for each shortlisted author. In the US, Kirkus Reviews led with James and Stuart and set the list against past winners from Arundhati Roy to David Szalay.

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — possible firsts: a winner of Mexican or Turkish heritage, or the oldest ever.
• ThePrint — the panel, the reading marathon and the spread of nationalities.
• Deccan Chronicle — the returning stars and the prize money.
• Kirkus Reviews — the list in the prize's long history.

What we don't know yet: The shortlist is due on September 22 and the winner on November 9. No Indian author made this year's longlist, and neither Indian outlet raised it.