M. John Harrison wins Booker Prize at 81, becoming its oldest recipient

M. John Harrison has won the 2026 Booker Prize for *The End of Everything*, becoming the oldest author to receive the award at 81. The British writer’s post-apocalyptic novel won the £50,000 prize at a ceremony in London on Monday.

The book follows a beachcomber and his armed aunt trying to survive on the Kent coast after a mysterious catastrophe. Its disorienting narrative has divided readers: one critic called it “bleak but brilliant”, while another described it as “dreamlike and baffling”.

Judge Mary Beard said the novel was “a challenging read”, adding that it left her with “a twinge of optimism”. The judges chose it unanimously after debating the six shortlisted books.

Harrison’s win is also a milestone for science fiction. Booker Prize Foundation chief executive Gaby Wood called him the first winner to emerge from the “bona fide SF world”. The author has described the novel as a disaster story in which “the disaster is the failure to comprehend”.

The other shortlisted novels were *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. Harrison’s place on the shortlist was covered in an earlier report on this year’s finalists.