Rifah Tashfia Islam

No river remembers the exact moment it became a river. It remembers rain, perhaps.

The longlist for the Booker Prize 2026 has been unveiled, highlighting 13 novels that span a wide range of genres, settings, and themes. The selection has been made from 163 submissions— which includes previous Booker winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart, alongside former shortlisted author Elizabeth Strout, and 10 first-time longlistees. The list, this year, also introduced three debut novelists.

Set in rural Trinidad, “The Serpent in the Grove” explores themes of betrayal, survival and the resilience of a woman's will.

On June 19, 2026, the occasion was the 20th staging of “Love Letters”, A. R. Gurney’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated play, translated and adapted into Bangla by writer and translator Professor Abdus Selim. Directed by veteran theatre actor and director Tropa Majumdar and staged by Group Theatre at the Dr. Nilima Ibrahim Auditorium, the production brought together the acting power couple, Ramendu Majumdar and Ferdausi Majumdar. Their performances transformed what could have easily been a simple reading of letters into something deeply intimate and profoundly human.

Emily’s right leg trembled as she stood alone on the wooden stage, the darkness that surrounded her felt almost alive.