Booker Prize 2026: M. John Harrison, 81, Is Oldest Winner Ever
(MENAFN) British novelist M. John Harrison claimed the 2026 Booker Prize on Monday, and at 81 became the oldest author ever to take the award, for his dystopian novel “The End of Everything.”
David Szalay, the reigning champion, handed Harrison the £50,000 ($67,232) prize at a ceremony held at Old Billingsgate in London.
Harrison’s 13th book trails a beachcomber and his aging aunt as they fight to stay alive on the Kent coast of England. Their struggle comes after an unexplained catastrophe and the appearance of shape-shifting beings called the iGhetti. At 198 pages, it was the shortest title among the six finalists.
Judges backed the novel unanimously after weighing 163 entries. Panel chair Mary Beard, a historian and broadcaster, called it “the politics of now seen through the lens of the future,” and credited its mix of dark humor, political satire and optimism.
Harrison, whose career stretches across six decades, is the first writer rooted mainly in science fiction to win the Booker, the Booker Prize Foundation said. His age tops that of Margaret Atwood, who was 79 when she shared the prize in 2019.
The shortlist also featured past winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart, along with Elizabeth Strout, Luke Kennard and Rebecca Perry.
The result is also a first for independent publisher Serpent’s Tail, which had never before won the prize. It was Harrison’s first Booker nomination.
Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize honors outstanding fiction written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. Authors of any nationality can compete.
David Szalay, the reigning champion, handed Harrison the £50,000 ($67,232) prize at a ceremony held at Old Billingsgate in London.
Harrison’s 13th book trails a beachcomber and his aging aunt as they fight to stay alive on the Kent coast of England. Their struggle comes after an unexplained catastrophe and the appearance of shape-shifting beings called the iGhetti. At 198 pages, it was the shortest title among the six finalists.
Judges backed the novel unanimously after weighing 163 entries. Panel chair Mary Beard, a historian and broadcaster, called it “the politics of now seen through the lens of the future,” and credited its mix of dark humor, political satire and optimism.
Harrison, whose career stretches across six decades, is the first writer rooted mainly in science fiction to win the Booker, the Booker Prize Foundation said. His age tops that of Margaret Atwood, who was 79 when she shared the prize in 2019.
The shortlist also featured past winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart, along with Elizabeth Strout, Luke Kennard and Rebecca Perry.
The result is also a first for independent publisher Serpent’s Tail, which had never before won the prize. It was Harrison’s first Booker nomination.
Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize honors outstanding fiction written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. Authors of any nationality can compete.
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