M John Harrison becomes oldest Booker Prize winner at 81

M John Harrison has won the 2026 Booker Prize for his dystopian novel The End of Everything, becoming the award's oldest winner at 81. The prize is worth fifty thousand pounds. The novel was chosen unanimously by the judging panel.

The story follows a man and his artist aunt in southern England after a mysterious invasion has brought about social collapse. A strange object found on a beach unsettles their lives. Judges praised the way the book views present-day politics through an imagined future.

Harrison is known for science fiction and fantasy, and the award adds to a long career that began with short stories in the 1960s. He has argued for well-written speculative fiction to be judged alongside other literary work rather than confined by genre labels.

The winning book emerged from a shortlist that included previous Booker winners and established novelists. Harrison had not previously been shortlisted, although he served as a judge in 2022. The decision recognises this novel; the judges said they were responding to the quality of the book rather than setting out to reward a genre as a category.