Eligibility Period and deadline for entries to The Orwell Journalism Prizes 2022 extended to 31st March 2022
28 February 2022
With reporters under immense pressure to cover an intense start to the year, the Foundation is extending the deadline and eligibility period for entries to The Orwell Prize for Journalism and The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils to Thurs… find out more
Richard Blair donates ‘precious letters’ to the Orwell Archive at UCL
29 November 2021
Fifty letters written by George Orwell to two women he sought to marry and who became lifelong friends have been donated by the author’s son, Richard Blair, to the Orwell Archive at UCL. The letters reveal new details about Orwell’s life in the 1930s … find out more
Orwell Prizes open for entries for 2022 and judges announced
22 November 2021
Judging panels announced as all Orwell Prizes, the UK’s most prestigious prizes for political writing, open for entries for 2022 The Prizes will also have a new Finalists format, revised eligibility period and a new Orwell Festival of Political Writi… find out more
We are recruiting a Deputy Director
04 November 2021
Please note: we have reopened applications for this strategic role. A successful candidate could progress to offer before the advertised closing date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible if you are interested in the opportunity. The positi… find out more
Ian McEwan to deliver The Orwell Lecture 2021
12 October 2021
Ian McEwan will deliver this year's Orwell Lecture on the topic 'Politics and the Imagination: Reflections on Orwell's Inside the Whale'. The lecture, which is generously sponsored by George Orwell's son, Richard Blair, will be held in-person at Co… find out more
Statement from The Orwell Foundation on ‘Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me’
10 August 2021
The Orwell Foundation acknowledges the concerns and hurt expressed about Kate Clanchy's memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me (Picador, 2019), winner of The Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2020. The Foundation understands the importance o… find out more
This year’s Orwell Youth Prize winners start small – and point in a new direction
21 July 2021
The Orwell Foundation can today reveal the winners of The Orwell Youth Prize 2021, after young writers from across the UK responded to the theme 'A New Direction: Starting Small'. From the conservation of Norfolk’s wetlands to the poetry of politica… find out more
John Harris and John Domokos win The Orwell Prize for Journalism 2021
25 June 2021
The winners of The Orwell Prize for Journalism 2021 were announced today, Friday 25th June 2021. The prize, for the commentary and/or reportage which best meets Orwell’s own stated ambition, "to make political writing into an art", was awarded to John H… find out more
Annabel Deas wins The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils for podcast series ‘Hope High’
25 June 2021
Annabel Deas was announced today, Friday 25th June, as the winner of The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils 2021 for her BBC Radio 5 Live podcast series 'Hope High'. Sponsored and supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and worth £3,0… find out more
The Orwell Prize winners of Political Writing and Political Fiction 2021 announced
25 June 2021
The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2021, sponsored and supported by Richard Blair and A. M. Heath, has been awarded to Summer by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton), the fourth and final book in her Seasonal Quartet. Written and published at great speed last … find out more
