M. John Harrison wins 2026 Booker Prize with satirical sci-fi novel
The 81-year-old author becomes the oldest recipient in the award's history for his post-apocalyptic story set in Kent.
By Noor Graham ·
The 2026 Booker Prize has been awarded to British author M. John Harrison for his novel The End of Everything. The award, which recognizes the best fiction published in the United Kingdom and Ireland, marks the end of a competitive season that included works by prominent contemporary writers.
Harrison, 81, is the oldest author to win the prize since its inception. The novel is his 13th published work, following a career spent primarily in science fiction. His 2006 book Nova Swing previously earned the Arthur C. Clarke Award in the United Kingdom and the Philip K. Dick Award in the United States.
The story follows a man named Philip and his aunt Marnie as they search for artifacts along the coast of Kent, England. The narrative takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where a shape-shifting entity known as the iGhetti conducts a slow invasion. The tone of the book is satirical, blending dark subject matter with a sense of dry humor.
Mary Beard, who chaired the jury of judges, described the book in a statement as a work that turns readers upside down while leaving them with a twinge of optimism. The judging panel also included poet Raymond Antrobus, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, editor Rebecca Liu, and novelist Patricia Lockwood.
In an interview with the Booker Prize team, Harrison said he drew inspiration from current affairs. He asked what happens when expectations of the world become an ongoing disaster but people still have to make a life. The question guided the thematic core of the novel.
Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, noted in a statement that while past winners have borrowed elements from science fiction, Harrison is the first winner to emerge directly from the science fiction world. She called him a genuinely original thinker and a genre-defying writer who takes ideas seriously.
Harrison receives a prize of 50,000 pounds, approximately 67,000 dollars, along with a trophy presented by the previous year's winner. David Szalay won the 2025 prize for his novel Flesh. Other shortlisted works this year included The Disappearers by Marlon James and The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout.
