The 2026 Unread Prize for Literature

is awarded to Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book!

by Abdel Seoud

The first literary prize judged entirely without reading the book.

The citation

"For a work of rare restraint, which no member of the jury has opened; for its bold refusal to exist in more than one copy; and for a price that keeps its mysteries intact. The jury was moved by everything it did not read."

The jury

Abdel SeoudChair
Abdel SeoudLiterary Critic
Abdel SeoudPerson Who Has Held the Book

Conflicts of interest: all of them. Declared here.

From the deliberations

Transcript, released for transparency.

The Chair: We are here to choose the best book of the year. Has anyone read it?
The Literary Critic: No.
The Person Who Has Held the Book: I held it once. It felt literary.
The Chair: Why has nobody read it?
The Literary Critic: It costs one million dollars.
The Person Who Has Held the Book: And there is only one copy. I put it back.
The Chair: Then it is the only book none of us has read.
The Literary Critic: Which makes it the only fair choice.
The Chair: All in favour?
All three: Aye.
The Chair: Unanimous. Again.

The shortlist

Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book!Winner
Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book! (paperback)Shortlisted
Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book! (the one on the shelf)Shortlisted
Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book! (the only copy)Shortlisted
Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book! (unread)Shortlisted

The jury noted the exceptional strength of this year's shortlist, which is the same book five times.

$0Prize money

$1,000,000Cost to read the winner

0Jurors who read it

1Copies in existence

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Any book may be nominated. The committee reviews every nomination instantly and fairly.

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Previous and future winners

2026 Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book!
2027 Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book! (provisional)
2028 Dad, Look – I Wrote A Book! (also provisional)

The prize will be awarded to a different book once someone reads this one.