The shortlist for the 2026 Booker Prize, announced this week, features four male authors and two female writers. Jarvis Cocker, one of the judges for this year's prize, expressed surprise at this composition, stating that "generally speaking, the male-written books weren’t as good as the ones written by women".
The novels by female authors, Rebecca Perry’s May We Feed the King and Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say, both have male protagonists. The male authors on the shortlist include Marlon James with The Disappearers, Douglas Stuart with John of John, M John Harrison with The End of Everything, and Luke Kennard with Black Bag.
The shortlisted works are described as exploring themes related to masculinity, with characters often displaying vulnerability and uncertainty. This reflects what is seen as a renewed confidence in narratives about men in publishing.