The 2026 Man Booker International Prize was won by the novel “Chizukoʼs Taiwanese Notes”

Author:
Olha Bereziuk
Date:

The 2026 Man Booker International Prize was won by Taiwanese author Yang Schwandziʼs novel "Taiwan Travelogue". It was translated by Taiwanese-American author and translator Lin King.

This is stated on the award website.

This is the first time a book translated from Mandarin Chinese has won the Man Booker International Prize.

Written as a fictionalized translation of a rediscovered Japanese memoir about a trip to Taiwan in the 1930s, when the island was under Japanese colonial rule, the novel explores themes of power, colonialism, culture, class relations, and love through the story of two womenʼs journeys.

Getty Images / «Babel'»

The book has not yet been published in Ukrainian, but it is already being translated by the publishing house "Safran". The release is expected in a few months.

The jury selected the winner from among six finalists. In addition to "Chizukoʼs Taiwanese Notes," the shortlist also included:

  • "The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran" by Shidi Baziar, Germany;
  • "She Who Remains" by Rene Karabash, Bulgaria;
  • "The Director" by Daniel Kehlmann, Germany;
  • “On Earth As It Is Beneath” by Ana Paula Maia, Brazil;
  • "The Witch" by Marie Ndiaye, France.

In 2025, the Man Booker Prize was awarded to Hungarian-British writer David Soloy for his novel "Flesh".

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