News

June 29, 2012

Happy Birthday to George

George Orwell was born as Eric Blair on 25th June 1903 so Monday could have been his 109th birthday. We had lots of tweets on what people were reading to celebrate and the most prominent were; Nineteen Eighty Four, Road Read more

June 22, 2012

Burmese Days

This week Myanmar democracy advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi became the first non-head of state to address both houses of Britain’s parliament. “We have an opportunity to re-establish true democracy in Burma. It is an Read more

June 15, 2012

Coming Up for Air

This week we celebrated the publication anniversary of Orwell’s novel Coming Up for Air. Written in 1938 and first published on 12th June 1939, Coming Up for Air is a story of a man’s journey home to the setting of Read more

June 8, 2012

Dickens and O’Shaughnessy

Tomorrow it will be 142 years since Charles Dickens died. Two centuries since his death Dickens is still much loved for his great contribution to classic English literature. It is thought by many that he was the quintessential Victorian author. Read more

June 1, 2012

1984

A week today, Friday 8th June, will be the 63rd anniversary of the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Since its first publication in 1949 reportedly more than 25 million copies have been sold worldwide and Nineteen Eighty-Four is regularly cited as Read more

May 25, 2012

2012 Winners Announced

The winners of the Orwell Prize 2012 were announced on Wednesday at our Awards Ceremony at Church House, Westminster. Christopher Hitchens’ widow Carol Blue accepted an Orwell Prize Memorial for his passionate contribution to political writing, Amelia Gentleman won the Journalism Prize, Rangers Read more

May 23, 2012

Orwell Prize 2012 winners announced

Christopher Hitchens memorialised Toby Harnden wins Book Prize for Dead Men Risen Amelia Gentleman wins Journalism Prize for her work in The Guardian Rangers Tax-Case wins the Blog Prize The winners of the Orwell Prize 2012, Britain’s most prestigious prize Read more

May 18, 2012

2012 Winners to be announced on Wednesday

The winners of this year’s Orwell Prize awards ceremony will be announced on Wednesday, 23rd May. The 2012 winners – of the Book Prize, Journalism Prize and Blog Prize – will be announced from 7pm, with drinks from 6.30pm, at Church House, Read more

May 11, 2012

23rd May Awards Ceremony

The winners of this year’s Orwell Prize awards ceremony will be announced on Wednesday, 23rd May, and it would be wonderful if you could join us. The 2012 winners – of the Book Prize, Journalism Prize and Blog Prize – will Read more

May 4, 2012

An Invitation

This year’s Orwell Prize awards ceremony is taking place on Wednesday, 23rd May, and it would be wonderful if you could join us. The 2012 winners – of the Book Prize, Journalism Prize and Blog Prize – will be announced from Read more

April 27, 2012

2012 Shortlists Announced

The shortlists for the Orwell Prize 2012 were revealed on Tuesday at our annual shortlist announcement and debate hosted by the University of Westminster. On our website you can read the full list of 6 shortlisted books and an extract, Read more

April 24, 2012

Orwell Prize 2012 Shortlists Announced

6 books in contention include themes of murder, opium and urban underworld; 6 journalists in the running include pieces on 9/11 jumpers, reading the riots and welfare war; 7 bloggers still competing for the prize include those on broken bureaucracy, Read more

April 20, 2012

Debate: Our overwhelmingly white media are inevitably delivering ‘white news’.

On Tuesday evening The University of Westminster in Regent Street will host The Orwell Prize 2012 shortlist announcement and debate. Director of the Orwell Prize, Jean Seaton, will first announce the 2012 shortlists then a panel will debate the issue: Read more

April 13, 2012

Shortlist announcement and debate on 24th April

The Orwell Prize 2012 shortlist announcement and debate will take place in less than a fortnight at the Boardroom, University of Westminster, Regent Street W1B 2UW. As Jean Seaton highlighted in a recent press release, we are concerned by the Read more

April 6, 2012

Happy Easter

Aged eight a young George Orwell wrote to his mother Ida while studying at boarding school during Easter break 100 years ago. “Thank you for that letter you sent me, but I couldent read it somewon tore it up before Read more