Booker Prize Wins Dystopian Novel “The End of Everything”
81-year-old Michael John Harrison became the oldest winner of the Booker Prize. He won with The End of Everything, a dystopia about life after a mysterious catastrophe. Writer to receive £50,000
British author Michael John Harrison won the 2026 Booker Prize for The End of Everything. This is reported on the website of the award.
The winner was announced on November 9 at a ceremony in London. Harrison was awarded £50,000 and a statuette. At the age of 81, he became the oldest laureate in the history of the award, surpassing Margaret Atwood's record - in 2019 she received the award at 79.
The End of Everything is Harrison's 13th novel and his first Booker nomination. The 198-page book was the shortest on this year’s shortlist. In 2022, the writer himself was a member of the jury of the award.
The action of the dystopia takes place on the coast of the English county of Kent years after the mysterious catastrophe and invasion of the creatures known as iGhetti. The protagonist Philip Tennent collects items thrown away by the sea and lives with an elderly aunt Marnie. One day, he finds a jelly-like creature that grows rapidly, masters speech and begins telling people what to do.
The jury, chaired by historian and TV host Mary Beard, chose the winner unanimously after a day of deliberations. Beard described the novel as “today’s politics seen through the lens of the future.” According to her, one of the central ideas of the book is that the coming apocalypse will be “incomprehensible”, and the old rules will lose their meaning.
The shortlist also included Marlon James's "The Vanishing," Luke Kennard's "Black Bag," Rebecca Perry's "Can We Feed the King," Douglas Stewart's "John, Son of John," and Elizabeth Straut's "The Things We Never Talk About." James and Stewart have already received Booker in 2015 and 2020, respectively. The jury reviewed 163 books.
In 2025, the winner was the British writer of Hungarian origin David Salay with the novel “Flesh”. He tells the story of Istvan, who goes from living in Hungary to London mansions before his well-being begins to crumble.
The Booker Prize is awarded annually for a work written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. Authors of any nationality can participate.
