Dark feminism and Debuts: A Guide to the International Booker Prize

“On the 31 st of March, the shortlist for the 2026 International Booker Prize was announced. Judged this year by a panel chaired by award-winning author Natasha Brown, the International Booker is arguably the most prestigious literary award given in the English world to non-English authors on the basis of a single book. In the past, its recipients have included Han Kang, Olga Tokarczuk and Chinua Achebe. This year’s shortlisted nominations range from a literary account of the life of Iranian refugees to a dark, poetic exploration of gender roles in rural Albania. With the official winner on the 19 th of May, here is your guide to this year’s nominations. Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King Publisher: And Other Stories Originally published in 2020, Taiwan Travelogue received the Golden Tripod Award in 2021, the highest literary honour awarded in Taiwan. Its 2024 English translation has won the US National Book Award for Translated Literature, the first Taiwanese novel to win the award. Set in 1930s Taiwan, the plot follows Japanese novelist Aoyama Chizuko as she explores the island and deals with a seemingly unrequited infatuation with her interpreter. Described by critics as “a matryoshka doll: a straightforward story surrounded by many twisting layers of mystery,” Taiwan Travelogue appears to be one of the forerunners on the list, with a strong, preexisting history of awards to show for itself. The Witch by Marie Ndiaye, translated by Jordan Stump Publisher: MacLehose Press A translation of a 1996 novel by the Prix Goncourt-winning French author and playwright Marie Ndiaye, The Witch is a story of a suburban housewife who happens to also be a witch. Lucie, the protagonist, has operated primarily within the domestic sphere without losing sight of the magic passed onto her by her mother and her mother before her. Now that her own daughters are transitioning from childhood to womanhood, it is time for Lucie to induct them into the family order. Described by critics as “Part horror, part fable,” it is the oldest novel on this year’s shortlist, though that should not lead one to dismiss it as a serious contender for the award. On Earth as it is Beneath, by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan Publisher: Charco Press The sixth novel by the Brazilian author of the Saga dos Brutos trilogy, this 2017 novel takes place in a fictional penal colony, where every full moon the inmates are released and then hunted down by the rifle-wielding warden. Described as “unsettling” and “unflinching,” it evokes themes of violence and systemic brutality common to Maia’s work, which she claims is strongly inspired by the writings of authors such as Poe and Dostoyevsky. The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin Publisher: riverrun Following the life of real-life Austrian film director G.W. Pabst, The Director is the second novel of Kehlmann’s to be nominated for the Booker award. His last book, Tyll , received a nomination upon its 2020 translation from German to English, losing that year to Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Kehlmann is one of the highest-grossing authors currently writing in German and one of this list’s heavy-hitters. It was originally published in 2023 under the title Lichtspiel and has received plentiful and positive critical attention since. This year’s Booker judges praise The Director as a “literary panning shot,” able to compassionately deal with matters of survival under an authoritarian regime. She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel Publisher: Peirene Press The debut novel of Bulgarian actress and writer Rene Karabash, She Who Remains, is a dark, feminist account of expectations placed upon young women in rural Albania. It follows Matija on her return to the village of her childhood – the place in which her refusal to engage in arranged marriage has led to multiple deaths and destruction of her family – as she tries to reconcile with her past. Described by judges as an “unforgettable modern fairy tale,” She Who Remains is this year’s debutant black horse, going against works from older and more experienced writers. Still, while uncommon, it is far from unheard of for a debut to be awarded the Booker. The Nights are Quiet in Tehran by Shiza Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin Publisher: Scribe UK Upon its translation from German in 2025, The Nights are Quiet in Tehran has earned copious critical acclaim, described in reviews as an “epic” and “a beautiful exploration of the trauma of losing one’s homeland.” Another debut novel, Bazyar’s book has been translated into Dutch, Farsi, French and Turkish, and has been nominated for the German Book Prize. It is a polyphonic collection of accounts of life after fleeing Iran, based, amongst others, on Bazyar’s interviews with her own parents. In the context of the war currently waged on Iran by the US, The Nights is a particularly relevant position on the shortlist.

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