Read a whole Booker Prize shortlist
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Each year a panel of five judges cuts a longlist of 12 or 13 works of long-form fiction to a Booker Prize shortlist of six, then chooses a winner. Reading all six lets you judge the judges, and the prize's website publishes reading guides and extracts for the shortlisted books.
GentleUnder £100 / $130MonthsIndoors or outAlone or with others
How to start
- Open the Booker Prizes website and note the six titles on the current shortlist.
- Borrow or buy the first book and read the prize's reading guide alongside it.
- Rank the six in your own order once you have finished, then compare your choice with the judges' winner.
Where to go
- The Booker Prizes official website (Booker Prize Foundation)
- Booker Prizes facts and figures (how the longlist, shortlist and judging work)
We opened these links on 8 October 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Projects run over months and stall without a rhythm, so the plan sets milestones you can see.
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