I t was a dementing process,” says the poet Raymond Antrobus of judging this year’s Booker Prize , the winner of which will be announced on 9 November. “I lost my mind quite a few times.” It’s not a total surprise. Insanity is just one of several responses someone might have to the mammoth task of reading 163 books in seven months, a figure that shakes out to roughly 23 books a month, or roughly three quarters of a book a day.

That, though, is what a Booker judge signs up for. It’s the cost of joining a league that counts Iris Murdoch and Salman Rushdie in its number, and the price you pay for helping to decide who will win one of the most prestigious prizes in the world. Author Patricia Lockwood, a former Booker Prize shortlistee herself and a fellow 2026 judge, was hesitant about serving on the panel. “It wasn’t until my husband said he would read all the books along with me that I was for sure a yes – I thought what a wonderful way to ruin his life for a year!” she laughs.…