Here’s the longlist for the 2026 National Book Award for Fiction.

Today, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2026 National Book Award for Fiction. These ten titles were selected from a pool of 451 books submitted for consideration by their publishers. This year’s judges for Fiction are Matt Bell, Caro De Robertis (Chair), Danielle King, Akhil Sharma, and Diane Wilson.

The finalists in all categories will be announced on Tuesday, October 6, and the winners revealed at the 77th National Book Awards Ceremony on November 18. In the meantime, here’s the 2026 Fiction longlist: Hannah Lillith Assadi, Paradiso 17 Knopf / Penguin Random House Kimberly Blaeser, Red Ants Counterpoint Press Edwidge Danticat, Dèy Knopf / Penguin Random House Julián Delgado Lopera, Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You Liveright / W. Norton & Company Louise Erdrich, Python’s Kiss Harper / HarperCollins Publishers Marlon James, The Disappearers Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House Valeria Luiselli, Beginning Middle End Knopf / Penguin Random House Alexander Maksik, Passengers Europa Editions Kenan Orhan, The Renovation Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers Morgan Thomas, Mad Eden MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers