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After 163 novels, months of reading and more than one rereading, five Booker Prize judges have arrived at six books they believe deserve to remain in the conversation. The Booker Prize 2026 shortlist brings together two former winners, an 81-year-old literary veteran, a celebrated American novelist and three writers appearing on a Booker shortlist for the first time. Mary Beard, who chairs the judging panel alongside Raymond Antrobus, Jarvis Cocker, Rebecca Liu and Patricia Lockwood, said the chosen novels range from the hilarious and unsettling to the shocking and understated.