Which books made the Gordon Burn Prize 2026 longlist?
Val McDermid chairs judging panel
Twelve books are included on the longlist for the £10,000 Gordon Burn Prize 2026, it has been announced.
The prestigious prize commemorates the Newcastle-born writer (1948-2009) of fiction and non-fiction whose books include Somebody’s Father, Somebody’s Son (1984) and Alma Cogan (1991).
It was founded in 2012 by New Writing North, Faber and the Gordon Burn Trust to recognise exceptional writing which has an unconventional perspective, style or subject matter and defies easy categorisation.
This year’s winner was Scottish writer Jenni Fagan for Ootlin, her memoir about growing up in the care system.
The year’s longlisted contenders come from the UK, Canada and the USA.
As well as the money, the winner – to be announced at a ceremony at Northern Stage on March 5, following the revelation of the shortlist in January - will have the chance to undertake a writing retreat at Gordon Burn’s cottage in Berwickshire.
The prize is supported by Newcastle University and the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts.
This year’s judging panel, chaired by crime writer Val McDermid, also includes journalist and broadcaster Nooruddean Choudry; writer and northern editor of The Irish Times, Freya McClements; poet and novelist Andrew McMillan; and Jude Rogers, the Welsh journalist and broadcaster.
The longlisted titles are…
TonyInterruptor, Nicola Barker (published by Granta)
Deviants, Santanu Bhattacharya (Fig Tree)
We Pretty Pieces of Flesh, Colwill Brown (Chatto & Windus)
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad (Canongate)
The Benefactors, Wendy Erskine (Sceptre)
Helm, Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber)
This Part Is Silent: A Life Between Cultures, SJ Kim (&Other Stories)
Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line, Elizabeth Lovatt (Dialogue Books)
Death of an Ordinary Man, Sarah Perry (Jonathan Cape)
Endling, Maria Reva (Virago)
A Room Above a Shop, Anthony Shapland (Granta)
Night of the Living Rez, Morgan Talty (&Other Stories)
Val McDermid said: “It’s been a genuine thrill for me to be involved with judging the Gordon Burn Prize. It’s a remarkable longlist and it represents the range and quality of what’s being published right now.
“I’ve made exciting discoveries but also been filled with delight and respect to see other writers grow and develop.
“It’s so important that we recognise writers who are pushing their forms in unexpected directions. Whittling this down to a shortlist of six will be hard; picking a winner nigh-on impossible!”
Rebecca Wilkie, senior programme manager (festival and events) at New Writing North, said the longlist “brings together 12 brilliant books from writers whose work spans genre and form, as Gordon Burn’s did before them”.
Prof Jo Fox, pro-vice-chancellor for humanities and social sciences at Newcastle University, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Gordon Burn Trust and Faber to support this year’s Gordon Burn Prize.
“Newcastle University is known for its world-leading work in creative writing and our commitment to nurturing writing talent alongside our regional partners is strong.”