Jarvis Cocker and Mary Beard announced as Booker prize judges

"So much contemporary fiction is based on history, or inspired by myth, that Booker prize judges often find themselves asking: What is a novel's role in relation to the past? What can the imagination do with facts?' said Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker prize foundation. These questions offer ways to think about fiction of all kinds, and I'm delighted that the distinguished and much-loved classical scholar Mary Beard has agreed to steer this year's panel."

"The judges will consider long-form works of fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026. Over the next several months, the panel will narrow down the entries to a longlist a Booker dozen of 12 or 13 books announced on 28 July. A shortlist of six books will be unveiled in September, with the winner announced in November."

Jarvis Cocker will serve on the 2026 Booker Prize judging panel, chaired by classicist and broadcaster Mary Beard. Patricia Lockwood, Raymond Antrobus and Rebecca Liu complete the five-person panel. Mary Beard is enthusiastic but apprehensive because she considers herself a slow reader who will need to speed up. Contemporary fiction's ties to history and myth raise questions about a novel's role in relation to the past and what imagination can do with facts. Submissions are open for long-form fiction in English published in the UK or Ireland between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026. A longlist of 12 or 13 will be announced on 28 July, a shortlist of six in September, and the winner in November. The winner receives £50,000; each shortlisted author receives £2,500.

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