At 81, M. John Harrison makes Booker Prize history with ‘The End of Everything’

British author M. John Harrison has won the 2026 Booker Prize for his novel The End of Everything, becoming the oldest recipient of the prestigious literary award at the age of 81.

The winner was announced at a ceremony held at London’s Old Billingsgate, a former fish market, on Monday. Harrison will receive prize money of £50,000 (approximately $67,000).

The win also marks a significant moment for science fiction, with Harrison's novel being recognised in a genre that has rarely featured among Booker Prize winners. The author has spent more than five decades writing science fiction, although this is his first Booker Prize nomination.

The judging panel, chaired by historian Mary Beard, comprised poet Raymond Antrobus, writer Patricia Lockwood, critic Rebecca Liu and Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of British band Pulp.

Describing the winning novel, the jury said it could be read as a thriller, mystery, satire, dystopian fiction, road novel or work of realism, adding that it offered readers different interpretations through its unconventional narrative.

Harrison's victory also renews attention on the Booker Prize's relationship with science fiction. While the 2024 winning novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey was set aboard a space station, its classification as science fiction has remained open to interpretation.

Harrison has a long association with the genre. He began his Viriconium series in 1971, creating a fictional city on a futuristic Earth that featured in several novels and short stories until 1984. He later completed his Kefahuchi Tract trilogy between 2002 and 2012.

The 2026 award marks a milestone in Harrison's literary career, recognising an author whose work has explored science fiction across several decades.