The Booker Prize Foundation has revealed the judging panel for the 2027 International Booker Prize, alongside a landmark funding deal that doubles the winner's prize money to £100,000 for the next ten years. The grant-giving organisation Bukhman Philanthropies has committed to an annual contribution of £1.4 million, securing the award's future through 2036.
Prize renamed and prize fund doubled
In recognition of this decade-long partnership, the award will be renamed the Bukhman International Booker Prize. The prize fund for the winning title will increase from £50,000 to £100,000, to be split equally between the author and the translator or translators. This marks a significant boost for translated fiction, which has seen a 31 per cent rise in UK sales since the prize's current incarnation launched in 2016, driven largely by readers under 35.
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, expressed gratitude for the long-term security. "We are incredibly grateful to Bukhman Philanthropies for their extraordinary commitment in funding the next 10 years of the International Booker Prize," she said. "When we launched this incarnation of the prize a decade ago, we did so in the hope that more great work from other languages and cultures would reach anglophone readers."
2027 judging panel announced
Critically acclaimed author Katie Kitamura will chair the 2027 judging panel. Joining her are writers Patrick McGuinness, Caleb Azumah Nelson, and Olga Ravn, as well as actor Tessa Thompson. The panel will select the best works of translated fiction published in the UK and Ireland between 1 May 2026 and 30 April 2027.
Reflecting on her appointment, Kitamura said: "The International Booker Prize is a visionary prize, one that has consistently celebrated the best fiction from around the world. It has shaped me as a reader and a writer, introducing me to new books, authors, and schools of writing." She emphasised the importance of translation, noting: "Translation represents a dialogue between two minds. The Bukhman International Booker Prize offers readers the opportunity to experience the profound encounter between author and translator."
Impact on translated fiction and literary community
Since its inception in 2016, the International Booker Prize has recognised 11 winners in 11 different languages. The prize's influence extends beyond the UK: rights to nominated books have been sold in dozens of territories, and five winners or nominees have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature: Annie Ernaux, Jon Fosse, Han Kang, Olga Tokarczuk, and László Krasznahorkai.
The new funding will also support wider literary initiatives. The foundation will gift 500 sets of each shortlist to local communities through library authorities in partnership with The Reading Agency. Prison reading programmes will be expanded, Braille and audio accessibility ensured, and the PEN Presents x International Booker Prize partnership will continue to diversify UK publishing.
Key dates for 2027 prize
A longlist of 12 or 13 books will be announced on Tuesday, 16 March 2027, followed by a shortlist of six on Thursday, 15 April 2027. The winner will be revealed at a ceremony in May 2027.
