Writer Marlon James closes in on 2nd Booker Prize

LONDON:

Jamaica-born author Marlon James is in the running to land a second Booker Prize should he win the coveted award on November 9 when the 2026 winner will be announced in London. James’ latest novel, The Disappearers, is among six novels shortlisted for the UK’s celebrated book award.

James has been receiving high praise for his fifth novel, which was launched in London last month, and if it goes on to win the Booker Prize, it will be the second time he will be taking away the title, having won in 2015 with his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings.

Both his fictional novels are centred on the fallout of deadly homophobic attacks in a hostile 1980s Jamaica.

Describing The Disappearers, James said: “It is based on a violent incident that was rumoured to have happened but was never proven, at least not up to the point when I began writing. But in Jamaica, we trust rumours more than facts, so the fact that people kept whispering about it meant it was true. But I’m more concerned with an incident’s aftermath than the thing itself, and fiction is ideally placed to bring what might be a closed-off chapter right into the open.”

The judges for the Booker Prize shortlist said: “A Jamaican epic from one of the most impactful Caribbean novelists today. Readers will love the shifting register of the dialogue and poetic phrasings, often pierced through with sharp, double-edged humour.”

The book is already receiving rave reviews from critics, with the New York Times calling it ‘a masterpiece ’, and it is also longlisted for the National Book Award 2026.

James, who is based in Minnesota, USA, was in London to launch The Disappearers with a series of featured conversations and book-signing events, including a sit-down with journalist Jason Okundaye at Foyles Bookshop in central London and with podcast host Aku Gyamfi at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, south London.

He also took time to visit the Jamaica Patty Company restaurant in Covent Garden, central London, for a book-signing event hosted by its Jamaican owner, Theresa Roberts, where he was greeted by eager book purchasers, who also got to take photos with the Jamaican author.

In addition to his Booker win, James is the recipient of the American Book Award, the Los Angeles Times’ Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers and celebrates the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between October 2025 and September 2026. The author of the winning title will receive £50,000.

This year’s six shortlisted books are The End of Everything by M John Harrison; The Disappearers by Marlon James; Black Bag by Luke Kennard; May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry; The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout; and John of John by Douglas Stuart.

The judges will announce their choice on Monday, November 9, during an event in London.