'Taiwan Travelogue' wins the 2026 International Booker Prize
Yáng Shuāng-zǐ's novel 'Taiwan Travelogue' has won the 2026 International Booker Prize, marking a significant achievement for Taiwanese literature. This is the first work translated from Mandarin Chinese to receive this honor, and both the author and translator Lin King are the first Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American winners. The novel is praised for its captivating narrative that intertwines romance and postcolonial themes, reflecting on Taiwan's complex history under Japanese occupation.
- ▪'Taiwan Travelogue' is the first Mandarin Chinese work to win the International Booker Prize.
- ▪Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and Lin King will share a £50,000 award for their contributions to the novel.
- ▪The book is described as a 'captivating, slyly sophisticated' travel memoir set in 1930s Taiwan.
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Book News & Features 'Taiwan Travelogue' wins the 2026 International Booker Prize May 19, 20265:31 PM ET By Ivy Buck Taiwan Travelogue author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, left, and translator Lin King are the first Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American winners of the International Booker Prize. They are pictured above in London on Monday. Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images Yáng Shuāng-zǐ's Taiwan Travelogue has won the 2026 International Booker Prize, awarded each year to the best work of fiction translated into English. It's the first work translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the International Booker.
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