Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King, wins the International Booker Prize 2026 | The Booker Prizes sprite-icon-arrow-leftsprite-icon-booker-prizesprite-icon-caret-downsprite-icon-caret-rightsprite-icon-cartsprite-icon-chevron-downsprite-icon-chevron-rightsprite-icon-clocksprite-icon-closesprite-icon-down-arrowsprite-icon-expandsprite-icon-facebooksprite-icon-hamburgersprite-icon-infosprite-icon-instagramsprite-icon-linkedinsprite-icon-magnifysprite-icon-mailsprite-icon-pausesprite-icon-play-filledsprite-icon-playsprite-icon-plussprite-icon-poundsprite-icon-quotesprite-icon-searchsprite-icon-soundsprite-icon-ticksprite-icon-tiktoksprite-icon-triangle-rightsprite-icon-twittersprite-icon-up-arrowsprite-icon-vimeosprite-icon-xsprite-icon-youtube<br>Skip to main content Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.
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Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King, wins the International Booker Prize 2026
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King, is named the 2026 winner of the International Booker Prize supported by Bukhman Philanthropies
Publication date and time: Published 19 May 2026 - 22:14 BST
Taiwan Travelogue is the first book translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the International Booker Prize<br>The winning author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translator Lin King are the first Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American winners of the prize<br>The winning book, which takes the form of a fictional translation of a rediscovered Japanese travel memoir, explores history, power and love through the lens of two women’s culinary tour across 1930s Japan-controlled Taiwan<br>Taiwan Travelogue was the bookmakers’ favourite to win the prize<br>It is ‘a captivating, slyly sophisticated’ book that ‘succeeds as both a romance and an incisive postcolonial novel’ according to Natasha Brown, Chair of the 2026 judges<br>Yáng – also a writer of manga and video game scripts – said of researching the book, her first translated into English: ‘the novel’s central themes of travel and food changed my life in two obvious ways: my savings went down; my weight went up’<br>Independent press And Other Stories pulls off back-to-back wins after their 2025 success with Heart Lamp<br>The winning book was announced by award-winning author Natasha Brown, Chair of the 2026 judges, at a ceremony in the Turbine Hall at London’s Tate Modern. The International Booker Prize recognises the vital work of translation, with the £50,000 prize money divided equally between the author and the translator. Each received a trophy, presented by Brown.<br>The evening included a screening of six short films starring critically acclaimed actors Kae Alexander, Jehnny Beth, Toheeb Jimoh, Toby Jones, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Indira Varma performing extracts from the shortlisted books, with the winning title read by Alexander. The announcement of the winner was shared with a global audience via a livestream on the Booker Prizes’ YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels and can be watched here. The event also featured red-carpet interviews with high-profile guests for the Booker Prizes’ social accounts.<br>The winning book was chosen by the 2026 judging panel. Brown was joined on the panel by writer, broadcaster and Oxford University Professor of Mathematics and for the Public Understanding of Science Marcus du Sautoy; International Booker Prize-shortlisted translator Sophie Hughes; writer, Lolwe editor and bookseller Troy Onyango; and award-winning novelist and columnist Nilanjana S. Roy. In selecting their winner, the judges were looking for the best work of long-form fiction or collection of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026. The winner judging meeting took place in the Drawing Room at Poon’s London’s Somerset House restaurant, as part of a collaboration for the 2026 prize.
Presented as the translation of a rediscovered (fictional) travel memoir, and exploring themes of colonialism, power, class and love, Taiwan Travelogue follows a Japanese novelist with a ‘monstrous appetite’ on a culinary tour through Japan-occupied Taiwan, accompanied by a local interpreter who shares her passion for food. The original Mandarin Chinese publication was a sensation when it was first published in 2020, causing a stir with some readers who thought it was a real translation of a 1930s Japanese text, whilst the extra layer of Lin King’s English language translation (and accompanying footnotes) has prompted critics to remark on its nesting-doll or onion-like qualities.<br>Natasha Brown, International Booker Prize 2026 Chair of judges, on the winning book:<br>‘Can love overcome a power imbalance? Taiwan Travelogue, winner of the International Booker Prize 2026, teases out the nuances of this question against a backdrop...