2026 Booker Longlist Predictions

It’s that time again! Every year our panel comes together to read and review all the booker nominees and to predict the winners. Welcome back to Andrew who is joining us again this year after a short hiatus. This year’s longlist will be announced on July 28. Every year we try and most years we fail spectacularly to get more than 3 correct predictions each. Will we have better luck this year? Keep reading to find out who we all selected and let us know what you think.

Judges are looking for the “best work of long-form fiction” (Booker website). Novels are eligible if they were published in the UK or Ireland between October 1 2025 and September 30, 2026 in English as the original language (no translated works). Expect new eligibility criteria next year so this is the last year the nominees will include books that aren’t out by the time of the announcement. Entries must be submitted by publishers and not authors and there are limits to the number of books each publisher is allowed to submit which varies based on how many past books they have had longlisted (so major publishing houses will have more submissions). To learn more about the prize and the judges please visit the bookerprize.com.

And now onto our panel’s predictions. Once again, this year, we’ve added chatGPT predictions. Will our panel beat chatGPT? To read more about each book or to purchase a copy for yourself, simply click on the book title in our lists (please note that we receive a tiny fraction of any book purchased through these links. We use those funds for blog prizes and giveaways).

My (Jen) Predictions: Although I’ve been relatively quiet with reviews on the blog, I’ve done a fair bit of reading in preparation for the Booker longlist. Admittedly, that never seems to help my accuracy and I’m not feeling overly confident with my list this year. In fact, I much prefer Tracy’s list to my own with the exception of the last book which can’t possibly make the list, can it? Here’s my list in no particular order:

• Land by Maggie O’Farrell.
• John of John by Douglas Stuart
• Transcription by Ben Lerner
• The Rebel English Academy by Mohammed Hanif
• Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli
• A Private Man by Stephanie Sy-Quia
• Good People by Patmeena Sabit
• Gloria Don’t Speak by Lucy Apps
• Borderline Fiction by Derek Owusu
• The Life of M by Rachel Cusk
• The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson. Okay, I don’t really think this will make it but I have it sitting on my bookshelf and wouldn’t mind finally getting to it.
• My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy
• Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam

Tracy’s Predictions: I’ve read a lot of books in anticipation of this- and I have no idea what the judges will choose. If I get one right, I’ll be thrilled, but I’m always afraid it will be the one I pick because I despised it. That being said, I’m excited to read some new books and find a new best read of the year. But, here goes this year’s attempt to read minds!

• John of John by Douglas Stuart
• Transcription by Ben Lerner
• The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddin
• The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
• Uprising by Tahmima Anam
• Astronaut! By Oana Aristide
• The Disappearers by Marlon James
• May We Feed the King by Rebecca Parry
• Said the Dead by Doreann Ni Ghriofa
• Ghost Cities by Siang Lu
• The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams
• Railsong by Rahul Bhattachary
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke: aand now for the one I didn’t like. I know lots of people loved it. Definitely not me. Closed it with a bad taste in my mouth, and that wasn’t from my gastric reflux. But I think it could be on the longlist.

Nicole’s Predictions: I literally haven’t a clue. Is it going to be all known books/authors is it going to be all unknowns? I kind of have a feeling this year is going to be largely one or the other. Apparently I’ve decided this year is the road less travelled. I’ve read none of these, barely heard of most of them. All the books I’ve read in prep for Booker 26 have fallen short (and if Yesteryear makes the list, I’m handing in my Booker card.) Under no circumstances, even if it wins, will I be reading Son of Nobody.

• Our Better Natures – Sophie Ward
• Rabbitbox – Wayne Holloway Smith
• Awake Awake – Fiona Mosley
• Sea, Poison – Caren Belin
• Lovers XXX – Allie Rowbottom
• Female Life on Planet Earth – Laleh Khadivi
• The Wreck – Lizzy Stewart (why not!?)
• The Delusions – Jenni Fagan (who is delusional here?)
• Queen Mab – Emily McBride
• Just Watch Me – Lior Torenberg
• I Want You To Be Happy – Jem Calder
• Uprising – Tahmima Anam
• Said the Dead – Doireann Ní Ghríofa

Lisa’s Predictions: Once again, I’ve chosen books by authors I’ve really liked in the past, and I’ve also thrown in a few other books that interested me. I read The True True Story of Raja the Gullible and I was just floored. It’s a novel that literally has everything. I’ve also read everything Tana French writes and she just keeps getting better. So, she may be unlikely to make the list, but I think she is a beautiful writer. One of the few that everyone in my family loves. Richard Russo, Maggie O’Farrell, and Emily St. John Mandel are other favorites of mine. 

• Transcription by Ben Lerner
• Land by Maggie O’Farrell
• The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabin Alameddine
• Whistler by Ann Patchett
• Kin by Tayari Jones
• Nonesuch by Francis Spufford
• Under the Falls by Richard Russo
• Dey by Edwidge Danticat
• Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
• Where are the Kings by Donal Ryan
• American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee
• This is Where the Serpent Lives by Danial Mueenudiin
• The Keeper by Tana French

Anita’s predictions: Of the hundreds of potentially qualified books, I think I’ve read like two. John of John by Douglas Stuart made my prediction list; This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin was close, but I left it off. The rest of my choices are mostly based on either the hype or something about their descriptions that sounded original. I love Deborah Levy, so her selection might just be hoping and praying on my part. Elizabeth Strout’s latest almost made my list for the same reason, but ultimately I think she’s just too mainstream popular to make it this year.

• John of John by Douglas Stuart
• Land by Maggie O’Farrell
• Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon
• Transcription by Ben Lerner
• Astronaut! by Oana Aristide
• Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam
• Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller
• The Visit by Neil Tully
• My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy
• Borderline Fiction by Derek Owusu
• American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee
• Keshed by Stu Hennigan
• Said the Dead by Doireann Ni Ghriofa

Chat GPT’s predictions: Once again this year we asked Chat GPT to provide its predictions. This year it’s clearly broken or lazy. Here is the list exactly as copied from chat GPT with errors and all.

• John of John by Douglass Stuart
• Vigil by George Saunders
• Departures by Julian Barnes
• Whistler by Ann Patchett
• The First House by Avni Doshi
• A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
• Transcription by Deborah Levy – Note: clearly this is meant to be Ben Lerner’s book. Levy’s newest book is titled “My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein.
• The Exit Party by Ben Lerner. NOTE: and this book is written by Emily St. John Mandel
• John Saturnall by Sebastian Barry. NOTE: Actual title: The Newer World
• “new novel by Marlon James. NOTE: This is titled The Disappearers and will be released Sept 1st.
• “new novel by Amitav Ghosh NOTE: Actual title is Ghost-eye
• “new novel” by Daisy Johnson, NOTE: Actual title is Long Wave
• North Sun by Ethan Rutherford

As a collective group (excluding chatGPT) our panel was all over the place this year. We predicted 49 unique books. The most commonly featured books on our lists were: Transcription by Ben Lerner (5/5 lists), John of John (4/5 lists), Land by Maggie O’Farrell (3/5), and Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa (3/5). If our collective wisdom counts for anything, Transcription and John of John look like the safest bets. Beyond that, though, all bets are off. Between the five of us we’ve nominated more than fifty different books, proving once again that predicting the Booker is somewhere between literary criticism and throwing darts blindfolded. Which probably means the judges will surprise us all.

We want to hear from you. What books did we miss? Who do you think has the best prediction list and why? Will chatGPT beat our judges?