Pulp singer and TV classicist to judge Booker prize entries

The singer Jarvis Cocker will feature on the 2026 Booker prize judging panel, set to be chaired by the classicist and broadcaster Mary Beard.

- Ella Creamer

Beard said that while she was “hugely looking forward” to being on the panel, she had “a little apprehension” because she was “quite a slow reader, so will have to learn how to speed up a bit.”

Gaby Wood, chiefexecutive ofthe Booker prize foundation, said: “So much contemporary fiction is based on history, or inspired by myth, that Booker prize judges often find themselves asking: ‘What is a novel’s role in relation to the past? What can the imagination do with facts?”

“I’m delighted the distinguished and much-loved classical scholar Mary Beard has agreed to steer this year’s panel.”