2026 shortlist

• Literary Fiction
• 

  Winner Thirst Trap

  By Gráinne O’Hare

  • Designer: Daisy Bates
  • Photographer: Vanessa McKeown
  • Imprint: Picador
• 

  Tenterhooks

  By Claire-Lise Kieffer

  • Designer: Jack Smyth
  • Imprint: Banshee Press

  www.jacksmyth.co

• 

  Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One

  By Kristen Arnett

  • Designer: Emma Ewbank
  • Art Director: Charlotte Strummer
  • Imprint: Little, Brown

  www.emmaewbank.com

• 

  Sea, Poison

  By Caren Beilin

  • Designer: Jamie Keenan
  • Art Director: Oliver Preston and Erik Rieselbach
  • Imprint: New Directions

  www.keenandesign.com

• 

  Parallel Lines

  By Edward St Aubyn

  • Designer: Suzanne Dean
  • Art Director: Suzanne Dean
  • Imprint: Jonathan Cape

  suzannedean.co.uk

• 

  On The Clock

  By Claire Baglin

  • Designer: Jack Smyth
  • Imprint: Daunt Books

  www.jacksmyth.co