4 min readJul 7, 2026 10:24 PM IST
First published on: Jul 2, 2026 at 09:21 PM IST
Come 2027, the prize for translated fiction, which was known as the International Booker Prize, will be renamed in honour of Bukhman Philanthropies, which has committed to fund the prize for the next 10 years along with doubling the prize money. It will be known as the Bukhman International Booker Prize.
Over the next decade, the winners will be awarded £100,000, which is approximately Rs 1.28 crores. The prize money will still be evenly between the author and translator. Shortlisted books will continue to be awarded £5,000 (approximately Rs 6.37 lakh) each, which will be evenly split between the author and the translator or translators.
Who are the new sponsors?
The founders of the philanthropic foundation, Daria and Dmitri Bukhman. (Source: bukhman.webflow.io)
Billionaire couple Daria and Dmitri Bukhman founded the foundation. “Supporting this prize over the next decade is deeply personal to me,” said co-founder and chair of the philanthropic foundation Daria Bukhman. “In a world increasingly shaped by speed, distraction, and massive advancement in AI, translated fiction asks us to slow down, to listen, and to understand lives unlike our own.”
Daria Bukhman holds a master’s degree in linguistics and language pedagogy, which, she says, fuels her passion for literature and her support of English-language writers. She is also an educator, health coach and wellbeing expert. Her husband, Dmitri Bukhman co-founded the mobile gaming company Playrix.
Their foundation Bukhman Philanthropies focuses on neonatal and maternal health, and is known to award other grants occasionally. They are committed to fund the Booker till 2036.
How has the prize’s name changed over time?
When it was launched in 2005, it was called the Man Booker International Prize as a biennial prize. In 2016 it was overhauled into an annual prize for a single translated novel, with the £50,000 winnings split between author and translator. In 2019, the charity Crankstart took over, and its name was truncated to simply the International Booker Prize.
Who’s judging in 2027?
The Bukhman International Booker Prize 2027 judges: Caleb Azumah Nelson, Olga Ravn, Katie Kitamura, Patrick McGuinness, Tessa Thompson. (Booker Prize)
Katie Kitamura, whose novel Audition was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2025, chairs will chair the panel, which will include writer-translator Patrick McGuinness, who is a Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Oxford, British-Ghanaian writer and filmmaker Caleb Azumah Nelson, Danish novelist, poet and translator Olga Ravn, actor and producer Tessa Thompson.
What’s eligible, and when are the lists announced?
Judges will consider long-form fiction or short story collections translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland between May 1 2026 and 30 April 2027. The longlist, a baker’s dozen, will comes out on March 16, 2027, and the shortlist of six will be declared on April 15. The winner will be declared the first month.
Has the prize actually moved the needle?
Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, credited the prize for increasing UK sales of translated fiction by 31 percent, driven largely by readers under 35. Nominated books have gone on to sell rights in dozens of other territories, and a win has sometimes triggered reprints of hundreds of thousands of copies in the author’s home country. Five past winners or nominees have since gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
The Bukhman International Booker Prize will be awarded annually. 
The founders of the philanthropic foundation, Daria and Dmitri Bukhman. (Source: bukhman.webflow.io)
The Bukhman International Booker Prize 2027 judges: Caleb Azumah Nelson, Olga Ravn, Katie Kitamura, Patrick McGuinness, Tessa Thompson. (Booker Prize)
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