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British author M. John Harrison, 81, has become the oldest winner in Booker Prize history, taking the 2026 award for "The End of Everything," a dystopian novel set on England’s Kent coast in the aftermath of a mysterious catastrophe.
Harrison received the £50,000 (over $67,000) prize at a ceremony held at Old Billingsgate in London on Monday, with 2025 winner David Szalay presenting him with the award.
The victory marks Harrison's first Booker Prize nomination and the first win for independent publisher Serpent's Tail.
Harrison's 13th novel follows a beachcomber, someone who searches beaches for objects washed ashore, and his elderly aunt as they struggle to survive after an unexplained disaster.
Set along England's Kent coast, the story introduces mysterious shape-shifting entities known as the iGhetti, bringing together elements of speculative fiction, political satire and dark humor.
At 198 pages, "The End of Everything" was the shortest of the six novels shortlisted for this year's award.
Historian and broadcaster Mary Beard, who chaired the judging panel, described the novel as "the politics of now seen through the lens of the future," highlighting its combination of satire, dark humor and optimism.
The judges unanimously selected Harrison's work after reviewing 163 submissions.
Harrison, whose literary career spans six decades, is the first writer primarily associated with science fiction to win the Booker Prize, according to the Booker Prize Foundation.
At 81, he also overtook Canadian author Margaret Atwood, who was 79 when she shared the prize in 2019.
This year's shortlist included former winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart, alongside Elizabeth Strout, Luke Kennard and Rebecca Perry.
Established in 1969, the Booker Prize recognizes outstanding fiction written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Writers from any country are eligible for the award.
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