The first Taiwanese writer and Taiwanese-American translator have won the International Booker Prize.
Written by Yang Shuang-zi and translated by Lin King, Taiwan Travelogue is the first winning book to have been translated from Mandarin Chinese.
The book follows a Japanese novelist with a “monstrous appetite” as she goes on a culinary tour through 1930s Japan-occupied Taiwan with the help from a local interpreter.
The “captivating” novel, which was originally published in Mandarin Chinese in 2020 before being published in English in March this year, explores themes of colonialism, power, class and love.
The winning book was announced at a ceremony in London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday with its £50,000 prize money divided equally between the author and the translator.
The two also received a trophy which was presented by award-winning author and chairwoman of the 2026 judges Natasha Brown.
Brown said: “Can love overcome a power imbalance? Taiwan Travelogue, winner of the International Booker Prize 2026, teases out the nuances of this question against a backdrop of 1930s Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule.
“Taiwan Travelogue follows Aoyama, a well-meaning author from Japan, and her Taiwanese interpreter, Chizuru, on a government-sponsored tour of Taiwan.
“From their first meeting, sparks fly between the two women. The power dynamics inherent to their burgeoning relationship, however, prove difficult to navigate. Chizuru is a cipher: enchanting, yet unknowable. She resists all of Aoyama’s efforts to pierce her carefully constructed mask of professionalism.”
The 2026 judging panel also included writer, broadcaster and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, translator Sophie Hughes, writer Troy Onyango and journalist Nilanjana S Roy.
Brown continued: “This book doesn’t shy away from the complexities (both real and fictional) of its journey into the English language.
“Instead, it uses the hallmarks of a more traditional text – introductions, footnotes, afterwords – to wrap an intriguing metafictional layer around its core love story.
“Lin King’s deft translation perfectly conveys the nuances of the novel’s narrative voices.
“Taiwan Travelogue pulls off an incredible double feat: it succeeds as both a romance and an incisive postcolonial novel. As judges, we’ve enjoyed rich discussions about the many layers of this book.
“It’s a captivating, slyly sophisticated novel.”
Chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood, described it as “inventive, playful, witty and profound” adding that it is a “love story that had the judges’ hearts as well as their minds”.
Taiwan Travelogue has become the 11th winner of the International Booker Prize since it launched in 2016.
The novel’s original publication in 2020 won Taiwan’s highest literary honour, the Golden Tripod Award.
It beat five shortlisted novels including The Nights Are Quiet In Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin, and She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel.
Other shortlisted books include The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin, On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan, and The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump.
Each shortlisted title was awarded a prize of £5,000: £2,500 for the author and £2,500 for the translator.
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