The shortlist for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award has been announced, featuring six works of fiction selected from nominations submitted by libraries around the world.
Now in its 31st year, the Dublin Literary Award is the world's most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English, worth €100,000 to the winner or, if the book has been translated, the author receives €75,000 and the translator receives €25,000.
The 2026 shortlist includes four novels in translation, three from French and one from Croatian, with authors who are American, Bosnian, British, and Canadian.
Two debut novelists, Magdalena Blažević and Éric Chacour, feature on the shortlist.
The shortlisted books are:
Gliff by Ali Smith
In Late Summer by Magdalena Blažević, translated by Anđelka Raguž
Live Fast by Brigitte Giraud, translated by Cory Stockwell
Perspectives by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
What I Know About You by Éric Chacour, translated by Pablo Strauss
The six-member international judging panel, chaired by Professor Chris Morash, will now select the winner, which will be announced by the Patron of the Award, Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam, on Thursday 21st May, at a gala event during Dublin City Council's International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) which runs from the 15th to the 24th May 2026 in Merrion Square Park.
All novels nominated for the Award will be available for readers to borrow from Dublin City Libraries and from public libraries around Ireland or can be borrowed as eBooks, and some as eAudiobooks, on the free Borrowbox app, available to all public library users.
Find out more about the 2026 Dublin Literary Award shortlist here
