M. John Harrison takes Booker Prize for post-apocalyptic novel
The 81-year-old science fiction writer becomes the oldest author ever to win the award, which recognizes the best fiction published in the U.K. and Ireland.
By Priya Marino ·
M. John Harrison has been named the winner of the 2026 Booker Prize for his satirical science fiction novel The End of Everything. The British author, who is 81 years old, is the oldest person to receive the honor in the history of the prize. The award is given annually to the best work of fiction published in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The novel follows a character named Philip and his aunt Marnie. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where the two search for artifacts along the coast of Kent, England. The plot centers on the slow invasion of a group called the iGhetti, which are described as shape-shifting entities. Harrison said he drew inspiration from current events when writing the book. In an interview with the Booker Prize team, he asked, "What happens when all of our expectations and explanations of the world become an ongoing disaster, but we still have to make a life?"
Mary Beard, the chair of this year's judging panel, described the book in a statement. She said the novel turns readers upside down and raises a wry smile. Beard added that despite the subject matter, the book leaves readers with a twinge of optimism.
Harrison has written 13 novels over a decades-long career. Most of his work falls into the science fiction genre. His 2006 novel Nova Swing won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award in the U.K. and the Philip K. Dick Award in the U.S. Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, noted that while many past winners have used science fiction elements, Harrison is the first to come from the science fiction world. Wood called him a genuinely original thinker and a genre-defying writer who takes ideas seriously.
The other judges included poet Raymond Antrobus, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, editor and critic Rebecca Liu, and poet and novelist Patricia Lockwood. The shortlist also included Marlon James' The Disappearers and Elizabeth Strout's The Things We Never Say.
Winners of the Booker Prize receive a cash award of 50,000 pounds, which is approximately 67,000 U.S. dollars. The recipient also receives a trophy presented by the previous year's winner. David Szalay won the 2025 prize for his novel Flesh.
Next step: The award ceremony will be held in the coming weeks to present the trophy to Harrison.
