Marlon James, Douglas Stuart Eye Historic Second Booker Prize Win

Jamaican novelist Marlon James and Scottish author Douglas Stuart are in contention to make literary history as the 2026 Booker Prize winner is announced in London on Monday.

The two previous winners have a chance to claim the prestigious fiction award for a second time, an achievement that would place either of them among a select group of writers who have won the Booker Prize twice.

James, who won the award in 2015 for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, has been shortlisted this year for The Disappearers, a novel set in late-1980s Jamaica. The story explores the murder of a gay man and the consequences of violence and hostility within society.

Stuart, who received the prize in 2020 for his debut novel Shuggie Bain, is competing with John of John. The novel follows a young art graduate who returns to his home on Scotland’s Isle of Harris, where he is forced to confront family tensions, religious conservatism and buried secrets.

According to the Associated Press, James is considered a strong contender for this year’s award, although Stuart also stands a chance of securing another victory.

If either author wins, they will become the fifth writer to receive the Booker Prize twice, joining J.M. Coetzee, Peter Carey, Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood.

The 2026 shortlist features six novels selected from 163 submissions. Other contenders include M. John Harrison’s The End of Everything, Luke Kennard’s Black Bag, Rebecca Perry’s May We Feed the King and Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say.

Strout, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2009 for Olive Kitteridge, is also among the notable names on this year’s shortlist.

The judging panel is chaired by classicist and broadcaster Mary Beard, alongside poet Raymond Antrobus, musician and writer Jarvis Cocker, journalist Rebecca Liu and novelist Patricia Lockwood.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London on Monday night and will receive £50,000, while each of the other shortlisted authors will receive £2,500.

Established in 1969, the Booker Prize recognises outstanding works of English-language fiction published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious literary awards, often bringing international attention to its winning authors and their books.