Congratulations to the 2026 International Booker Prize winner, TAIWAN TRAVELOGUE!
TAIWAN TRAVELOGUE by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ; translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
TAIWAN TRAVELOGUE is the first book translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the International Booker Prize. The novel, which takes the form of a fictional translation of a rediscovered Japanese travel memoir, explores history, power, class, colonialism and love through the lens of two women’s culinary tour across Japan-controlled Taiwan in the 1930s.
In selecting their winner, the judges were looking for the best work of long-form fiction or collection of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026. The International Booker Prize recognises the vital work of translation, with the £50,000 prize money divided equally between the author and the translator.
“A (fictional) Japanese writer explores the colorful and complex culinary, linguistic, and political dynamics that shaped life in 1930s Taiwan… Yáng’s sharp observation blends with sensitive, sometimes subversive political meditations to create a colorful portrait of pre–World War II Taiwan. A moving account of friendship in the shadow of the Japanese Southern Expansion policy.”—Kirkus Reviews
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