The Orwell Prizes
Last updated: May 27, 2025
The Orwell Prizes are the UK's most prestigious prizes for writing about politics, awarded annually to books and articles that best meet George Orwell's own ambition "to make political writing into an art." For books, there are prizes for both political fiction and nonfiction, reflecting George Orwell's own important work in both. Below, you'll find our interviews with the chairs of the judging panels, which change annually.
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At the Edge of Empire: A Family's Reckoning with China
by Edward Wong -
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
by Anne Applebaum -
Broken Threads: My Family from Empire to Independence
by Mishal Husain -
Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary
by Victoria Amelina -
The Baton and the Cross: Russia's Church from Pagans to Putin
by Lucy Ash
The Best Politics Books of 2025: The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
The Best Politics Books of 2025: The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
From conspiracy theories wreaking havoc in US politics to poignant memoirs of painful events around the globe, the books shortlisted for the 2025 Orwell Prizes, the UK’s most prestigious awards for writing about politics, have been announced. These are the eight books shortlisted for the ‘Orwell Prize for Political Writing,’ awarded annually to a nonfiction book. The comments are from the judging panel, chaired by UK diplomat and former ambassador to the US Kim Darroch.
The Best Political Novels of 2024: The Orwell Prize for Fiction
The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction is awarded annually to “outstanding novels and collections of short stories, first published in the UK or Ireland, that illuminate major social and political themes, present or past, through the art of narrative.”
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A Day in the Life of Abed Salama
by Nathan Thrall -
Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution
by Cat Bohannon -
Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence
by Yaroslav Trofimov -
The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq
by Steve Coll -
The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain
by Matthew Longo
The Best Politics Books of 2024: The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
The Best Politics Books of 2024: The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
The Orwell Prizes are the UK’s most prestigious prizes for writing about politics, awarded annually to books and articles that best meet George Orwell’s own ambition “to make political writing into an art.” The nonfiction books that made the 2024 shortlist ranged from evolution to political philosophy, from memoir to the Middle East.
The Best Political Novels of 2023, recommended by Boyd Tonkin
The Orwell Prizes are the UK’s most prestigious prizes for writing about politics, awarded annually to books and articles that best meet George Orwell’s own ambition “to make political writing into an art.” Boyd Tonkin, chair of this year’s judges, talks us through the books shortlisted for the 2023 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
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1
The Fire of the Dragon: China’s New Cold War
by Ian Williams -
2
Invasion: Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival
by Luke Harding -
3
Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving, and How We Solve It
by Emily Kenway -
4
The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain’s Colonial Legacy
by Philippe Sands -
5
The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule
by Angela Saini
The 2023 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by Martha Lane Fox
The 2023 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by Martha Lane Fox
The Orwell Prizes are the UK’s most prestigious prizes for writing about politics, awarded annually to books and articles that best meet George Orwell’s own ambition “to make political writing into an art.” Martha Lane Fox, chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the shortlist of the 2023 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, awarded annually to a nonfiction book.
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1
My Fourth Time, We Drowned
by Sally Hayden -
2
Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad
by Michela Wrong -
3
Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy
by Adam Tooze -
4
Orwell's Roses
by Rebecca Solnit -
5
Things I Have Withheld
by Kei Miller -
6
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
by David Graeber & David Wengrow
The Best Politics Books: the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by David Edgerton
The Best Politics Books: the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by David Edgerton
From the dawn of humanity to the Covid crisis, from a study in power to the plight of the powerless, the Orwell Prize for Political Writing looks for books that break through the mendacities of politics and rise to the challenge of our times, explains historian David Edgerton, chair of this year’s judging panel. He talks us through the ten fabulous books that made the 2022 shortlist.
