The 6 books on this year’s shortlist were chosen by the 2022 judging panel: cultural historian, writer and broadcaster Neil MacGregor (chair); academic and broadcaster Shahidha Bari; historian Helen Castor; novelist and critic M John Harrison; and novelist, poet and professor Alain Mabanckou.

Their selection was made from 169 novels published between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022 and submitted to the prize by publishers. Coincidentally, this year’s longlist includes the first and last book the judges read. The Booker Prize is open to works by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.