The 2026 International Booker Prize has been awarded to Taiwanese author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and her translator Lin King for Taiwan Travelogue, a historical romance set in 1930s Taiwan under Japanese occupation. The novel, originally published in Mandarin in 2020, becomes the first work written in that language to claim the prestigious £50,000 (€57,000) prize, which is split equally between writer and translator.
Judging panel chair Natasha Brown, a British novelist, described the book as “captivating, wryly sophisticated,” praising its dual nature as both a love story and a sharp postcolonial critique. The narrative purports to be a travel memoir by a Japanese novelist on a culinary tour of the island, tracing her evolving relationship with a local interpreter. Brown noted that the novel “plays with themes of language and power” and delivers unexpected twists.
A Story of Colonial Complexity
Yáng, whose work spans fiction, essays, manga, and video game scripts, has said she aimed to “untangle the complex circumstances” of Taiwan’s colonial era. In an interview with the Booker Prizes website, she added with characteristic wit: “Research for the novel’s central themes of travel and food changed my life in two obvious ways: my savings went down; my weight went up.”
The translation by Taiwanese-American Lin King adds another layer to a text already preoccupied with cross-cultural communication. The panel commended King’s work for enriching the novel’s exploration of linguistic and political boundaries.
Taiwan Travelogue was published in the United Kingdom in March 2026, following its longlisting in February. It quickly became the second-bestselling title on the shortlist, which also included works from Albania, Germany, and elsewhere. Rights have been sold in 23 territories, from Serbia to Indonesia and Brazil to Ukraine.
The novel previously won the National Book Award’s translation category in the United States in 2024. Its success underscores a growing global appetite for Taiwanese literature, even as the island’s geopolitical status remains contested. For European readers, the book offers a lens into a colonial history that resonates with the continent’s own imperial pasts.
For more on the shortlist, see our coverage of the International Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist: Colonial Taiwan, Nazi Cinema, and Albanian Sworn Virgins.
