Los Angeles: British author M. John Harrison has won the 2026 Booker Prize for his novel The End of Everything, one of the most prestigious awards in fiction. At 81, Harrison has also become the oldest-ever recipient of the award.
The winner was announced on Monday at a ceremony held at London’s Old Billingsgate, a former fish market. Harrison will receive prize money of GBP 50,000 (approximately USD 67,000).
This year’s judging committee was led by historian Mary Beard and included poet Raymond Antrobus, writer Patricia Lockwood, critic Rebecca Liu and Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of the British band Pulp, as per CNN.
“‘The End of Everything’ can be read as a thriller, a mystery, a satire, a dystopia, a road novel, a work of realism; whatever the reader is looking for can be found here, albeit told at a slant and with a twist,” the jury wrote in a Q&A published ahead of the announcement.
Harrison’s win could be considered the first time a science fiction novel has received the prize. Although the 2024 winner, Orbital, takes place aboard a space station, the philosophical novel is less clearly defined in its categorisation. Regardless, this year marks a rare recognition of science fiction, honouring an author who has published works in the genre for more than five decades.
Harrison began his Virconium series in 1971, set on a futuristic Earth, and continued writing about the fictional city through novels and stories until 1984.
Among his other works, he completed the Kefahuchi Tract trilogy between 2002 and 2012. This year marked the first time he was nominated for the Booker Prize.
