Current Context: On 22 September 2026, the Booker Prize Foundation announced the six novels shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2026 at the Southbank Centre in London. The works were selected from 163 English-language submissions published in the United Kingdom or Ireland between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026. The winner will be announced on 9 November 2026 at Old Billingsgate in London.
Key Points:
- The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
- The Disappearers by Marlon James
- Black Bag by Luke Kennard
- May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
- The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
- John of John by Douglas Stuart
- The shortlisted authors represent England, Scotland, Jamaica and the United States.
- Marlon James and Douglas Stuart are previous Booker Prize winners.
- The judging panel was chaired by classicist Mary Beard.
- Other judges were Raymond Antrobus, Jarvis Cocker, Rebecca Liu and Patricia Lockwood.
- The winner will receive £50,000, while each of the other shortlisted authors will receive £2,500.
- The novels cover dystopian fiction, historical fiction, campus satire and contemporary realism.
Question:
Q1. Who chaired the judging panel for the Booker Prize 2026?a) Patricia Lockwood
b) Raymond Antrobus
c) Mary Beard
d) Rebecca Liu
Answer: c) British classicist and author Mary Beard chaired the five-member judging panel that selected the six shortlisted novels from 163 eligible submissions.
