The Real George Orwell and the BBC
28 January 2013
It’s been a phenomenal week for the Prize and Orwell fans everywhere. The inaugural launch of George Orwell Day on Monday 21st spawned a mass celebration of his works. The Orwell Prize ran a read-in of ‘Politics and the English Language’ by offerin… find out more
Orwell Day
18 January 2013
We're thrilled to tell you about the inaugural launch of 'Orwell Day' on Monday 21st January. Working with Penguin Books and the Orwell Estate we will be celebrating the entire works of Orwell on the anniversary of his death and in the lead up to the BB… find out more
Entries for 2013 prize close on Wednesday
03 January 2013
Since October we have been accepting journalism and books from some of the very best writers of 2012 but we could certainly squeeze a few more books onto our shelves. This is the 20th year of the Orwell Prize and we are excited to add another book to the… find out more
Merry Christmas
21 December 2012
Merry Christmas from The Orwell Prize. As a Christmas treat in celebration of the anniversary of In Defence of English Cooking, which was published in December 1945, we are thrilled to share the Orwell House Project's video on Orwell and food. You can wa… find out more
Reaching for my Gnu
13 December 2012
Anna Chen, shortlisted in 2010 and longlisted in 2012 with her blog Madam Miaow Says, has released the paperback edition of her debut poetry collection today. Reaching for my Gnu has already been praised as "brilliant and dangerous". The Orwell Prize ar… find out more
Press release: Irrawaddy Literary Festival
07 December 2012
Burma’s first international literary festival featuring a host of renowned authors will take place in Rangoon in February. The Irrawaddy Literary festival at the Inya Lake Hotel will showcase the best of international and local writing from February … find out more
Raja Shehadeh imagines change with The Orwell Prize
06 December 2012
Last week the UN gave Palestine new diplomatic powers in 'statehood recognition'. Just a few days before The Orwell Prize's Katriona Lewis met Raja Shehadeh to discuss the changes he's seen since Palestinian Walks won the 2008 Orwell Prize for Books (wh… find out more
Open the curtains
02 December 2012
This is a guestpost by Jacqueline Crooks, Director of Befriend a Family In September I was invited to join an Orwell Prize panel to discuss poverty then and now in the 75th anniversary year of The Road to Wigan Pier. When reading the work in preparation… find out more
A visit to Wigan
23 November 2012
In February the Orwell Prize will be running a series of writing workshops for young people with Stephen Armstrong (author of The Road to Wigan Pier Revisited) in Wigan. Stephen piloted the project with writers including Will Self last year and the Orwell… find out more
Orwell Prize statement
18 November 2012
Over the past few days articles have been published in the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Times which make inaccurate statements about the Orwell Prize. The judging process of the Orwell Prize is entirely independent and the decisions rega… find out more