First Time for Taiwan: Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s ‘Taiwan Travelogue’ Wins International Booker Prize
'Taiwan Travelogue' is presented as a rediscovered 1938 Japanese travel memoir but unfolds as a bittersweet queer romance set amid the complexities of Japanese-occupied Taiwan in the 1930s. It follows a novelist and her Taiwanese interpreter as they navigate love, cultural identity, and the lingering distortions of colonialism. Judges praised the novel’s "sumptuous food writing, laugh-out-loud dialogue and metafictional twists".
- World News
- 2 min read
London: In a landmark moment for Taiwanese letters, author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translator Lin King have been awarded the 2026 International Booker Prize for Taiwan Travelogue, the first time a work from Taiwan -- and the first originally written in Mandarin Chinese -- has claimed the prestigious honor.
The prize was announced on May 19 at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London. The £50,000 award, supported by Bukhman Philanthropies, is shared equally between the author and translator.
Taiwan Travelogue is presented as a rediscovered 1938 Japanese travel memoir but unfolds as a bittersweet queer romance set amid the complexities of Japanese-occupied Taiwan in the 1930s. It follows a novelist and her Taiwanese interpreter as they navigate love, cultural identity, and the lingering distortions of colonialism. Judges praised the novel’s “sumptuous food writing, laugh-out-loud dialogue and metafictional twists,” hailing it as a work that succeeds as both an immersive romance and a sharp, incisive postcolonial critique.
Chair of the judges described the book as “captivating and slyly sophisticated,” noting its artful layering of language, history, power, and tenderness through footnotes, culinary details, and narrative play.
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Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, a versatile Taiwanese writer known for fiction, essays, manga, video game scripts, and literary criticism, has broken new ground with this victory. Lin King, the Taiwanese-American translator, shares the milestone as the first Taiwanese-American recipient of the prize.
The win marks a historic breakthrough for Mandarin-language fiction on the global stage and spotlights Taiwan’s rich literary tradition. Taiwan’s Vice President welcomed the news as a significant cultural achievement for the island.
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Taiwan Travelogue, published in English by And Other Stories, had already earned acclaim, including the US National Book Award for Translated Literature in 2024. Its victory on the International Booker stage underscores the growing international appetite for nuanced stories from underrepresented voices in East Asian literature.
Literary observers say the multilayered narrative not only entertains but invites readers to question how histories are written, translated, and remembered — making it a timely and resonant champion for 2026. The International Booker Prize, now in its 10th year, celebrates the finest fiction translated into English from around the world. Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and Lin King’s triumph signals a broadening of its horizons.