2026 Dublin Literary Award Shortlist
Discover the 2026 Shortlist
Six novels have been shortlisted for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award, sponsored by Dublin City Council, marking 31 years of excellence in world literature.
The award is the world’s most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English and worth €100,000 to the winner. If the book has been translated the author receives €75,000 and the translator receives €25,000. Unique among literary prizes, nominations are submitted by librarians and readers from a network of libraries around the world.
Earlier this year, 20 titles were longlisted, nominated by 26 libraries across 15 countries, showcasing the best in international fiction. All 20 books were read by the five judges who chose the shortlist of six books.
The 2026 shortlist includes four novels in translation, three from French and one from Croatian, with authors who are American, Bosnian, British, and Canadian. The list features two debut novelists, Magdalena Blažević and Éric Chacour.
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
On seeing the list, Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Ray McAdam commented:
“
Representing Bosnia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, these extraordinary books confront universal themes of grief, war, dystopian fear, unexpected friendship, and historical intrigue with brilliance, depth, and emotional power.
City Librarian Mairéad Owens added:
“
We are deeply grateful to the 80 libraries that nominated 69 titles, and to the international judging panel for the challenging work of selecting a longlist of 20 and, now the shortlist of six exciting and diverse titles.
The international judging panel, chaired by Professor Chris Morash, will now select the winner who will be announced by its Patron, Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Ray McAdam on Thursday 21st May, as part of International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD), which is also funded by Dublin City Council.
All nominated titles are available to borrow from libraries, and as eBooks and eAudiobooks on the BorrowBox app.
To learn more about the shortlist visit www.dublinliteraryaward.ie.
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