Six vie for £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize for daring fiction
A 1,200-page paranormal epic said to be 20 years in the making will compete with a campus power struggle and a Frankfurt-set obsession story for the 2026 Goldsmiths Prize.
The six-book shortlist, announced on 30 September, puts Missouri Williams, China Miéville, Polly Barton, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Keith Ridgway and Aea Varfis-Van Warmelo in contention for the £10,000 award, The Guardian reported.
The prize recognises fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form. It was established in 2013 and is awarded annually to a book deemed genuinely novel and embodying the spirit of invention, according to Goldsmiths, University of London.
Williams, described as a Booker-longlisted science-fiction author, is shortlisted for The Vivisectors. Set in an unnamed university town, it centres on academics locked in a power struggle with a group of gardeners. The official prize page associates Williams with Harper Collins.
Miéville is shortlisted for The Rouse, listed by the prize office as published by Pan Macmillan. The 1,200-page paranormal novel is described as 20 years in the making. It is one of the longest books to reach this shortlist in recent years.
Barton is shortlisted for What Am I, a Deer?, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. It follows a young woman who moves to Frankfurt to work for a video game company and becomes fixated on a man she meets on her commute.
Ní Ghríofa is shortlisted for Said the Dead, published by Faber. The book explores the history of women incarcerated in a Cork asylum. Ridgway is shortlisted for Dooneen, a novel depicting social unrest in Dublin.
The sixth place goes to Varfis-Van Warmelo for Attention-Seeking Behaviour. Narrated by a compulsive liar, it combines fiction with memoir and essay. Two of the six shortlisted books are debut novels, meaning first published novels by their authors.
Novelist Francis Spufford chairs this year's judging panel. Spufford is professor of creative writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is joined by judges Kate Briggs, Hari Kunzru and David Sexton.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday 4 November 2026.
