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Booker Prize Judges Reveal Shortlist After 'Tussle
Confirmed
In Short: The Booker Prize 2026 judges, including Jarvis Cocker and Patricia Lockwood, have revealed the shortlist after a selection process described as 'a tussle.
James is nominated for his novel 'The Disappearers,' while Stuart is shortlisted for 'John of John.' Both authors previously won the prize in 2015 and 2020, respectively.
The judges praised James's work, noting its 'shifting register of dialogue and poetic phrasings, often pierced through with sharp, double-edged humour.
The shortlist includes six novels, with the winner to be announced on November 9. The prize is worth 50,000 pounds.
Cocker, who joined one meeting from Australia at 2 a.m., said the experience was 'a bit like being in a band.
The judges also included Rebecca Liu, Raymond Antrobus, and Dame Mary Beard, who noted her newfound bossiness during the deliberations.
Douglas Stuart's 'John of John' remains in contention, while Emma Cline's 'Switzy' did not make the shortlist, despite initial speculation.
What this adds
The judges' process was notably intense, with each member advocating strongly for their choices.
The prize's value and the high-profile nature of the award add significant prestige to the shortlisted authors.
What's confirmed
- James previously won the Booker Prize in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings, while Stuart won in 2020 for Shuggie Bain.
What's still developing
- The other judges included former Booker Prize-shortlisted US novelist Patricia Lockwood, who said she discovered she was "bossier than I believed myself to be" when making the case for or against particular books in the judges' meetings.
- The judging line-up was completed by journalist, editor and critic Rebecca Liu and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, who said being on the selection panel was "a bit like being in a band".
- Cocker read some of the entries while on tour, and said he joined one judges' meeting online while wearing a dressing gown in a hotel room in Australia at 02:00 local time.
- The Booker Prize 2026 judges are Rebecca Liu, Jarvis Cocker, Dame Mary Beard, Raymond Antrobus and Patricia Lockwood Past Booker Prize winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart have been shortlisted for the prestigious literary award again, after a selection process that the judges described as "a tussle".
- It's the author's first Booker nomination, and he'd be the oldest ever winner at 81.
- The judges said: "A Jamaican epic from one of the most impactful Caribbean novelists today; readers will love the shifting register of the dialogue and poetic phrasings, often pierced through with sharp, double-edged humour." An out-of work actor gets a new role - being locked in a black bag during psychology lectures for an entire term as a professor's experiment.
- The final six contenders for this year's Booker Prize have been announced, after intense deliberation between the judges.
- The Times columnist Giles Coren wrote that he was so confident Emma Cline's longlisted novel Switzy would win the prize, he'd "eat Mary Beard" if it didn't.