Judith Fanto wins NS Publieksprijs with novel Narcis, taking 34% of 131,000 votes

The result

Judith Fanto has won the NS Publieksprijs 2026 with her novel Narcis, the 25th time the prize has been awarded. The result was announced on EenVandaag on NPO 1 on Thursday, 12 November 2026. Narcis took 34% of the votes, and 131,663 ballots were cast in total. Fanto was nominated for the first time and won the prize at her first attempt.

What the winner receives

The prize consists of a sculpture by Jeroen Henneman and 7,500 euro in cash. The Stichting Collectieve Propaganda van het Nederlandse Boek (CPNB) runs the prize together with Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The winning book will be promoted on screens in NS trains during the week after the award ceremony. The prize also carries the honorary title Boek van het Jaar 2026. The six nominated titles were drawn from the year's bestsellers, covering the period from 1 July 2025 to 1 July 2026.

The other nominees

Five other titles were on the shortlist, and most of their authors are familiar names. Saskia Noort was nominated for the eighth time with the thriller Adem. Adriaan van Dis returned with the memoir novel Alles voor de reis, after winning the literary prize in 2024. Herman Koch, the winner of 2009, was in the race with the crime comedy De overbodigen. Simone van der Vlugt, who won in 2010, was nominated with the historical novel Kruistocht van een koningin, and Francine Oomen was nominated with Hoe overleef ik alles wat anders gaat dan gedacht after one earlier nomination.

About Narcis and its author

Narcis was published by Ambo Anthos in 2025 and is Fanto's second novel. It follows six friends who meet in Vienna in 1916 and are forced to take sides when the Nazis invade Austria. The protagonist is an art restorer, Manno Loch, whose youthful friendships come under strain as National Socialism gains ground. More than 70,000 copies have been sold, and sales have risen sharply since the nomination. CPNB director Janneke Staarink praised the book in these words:

“It is a special story, based on careful and very detailed research by Judith Fanto.”

In her first reaction, Fanto said:

“This means a lot to me. I am very proud, very happy and grateful.”

Fanto's path to the prize

Fanto is a pen name, and the author is a medical jurist who also works as a manager in healthcare. She began writing a novel in 2015, after a difficult period in her family life. Her debut Viktor appeared in 2020 and draws on her Viennese Jewish family history, and it won a Hebban prize for the best debut of the year. Narcis went on to win the Silver Rainbow Award and was named Paagman's best book of 2025. Her third novel is about a love affair between a young Dutch economics student and a young woman from East Germany, set between 1976 and 1983, and is due in 2030.

Before the result was announced, Fanto had described herself as an underdog, saying she is not a well-known Dutch name and has never appeared on television.