With our book and journalism shortlists already announced, we can now reveal the final piece in the puzzle: the shortlist for The Orwell Youth Prize 2026.
Over 1300 young writers from across the UK responded to our theme of TRUTH. Thank you to everyone who took part, whether you entered a poem or essay, joined a workshop, or were one of over 750 entrants to receive feedback from our volunteers.
We are marking this year’s shortlists with a stimulating series of events, including the annual Political Quarterly Conversation on 17 June. Our panel will be exploring ‘Englishness, Britishness and the Populist Challenge’, drawing on Orwell’s seminal essay ‘The Lion and the Unicorn’. Read on for the full programme.
We also have some exciting news to share: as of this year, the winners of The Orwell Youth Prize will be featured in The Observer, with all the winning entries published digitally and one in print.
It is a fitting partnership: George Orwell wrote regularly for the paper, and its legendary editor David Astor was both his close friend and one of his most important supporters. But it is also a forward-looking partnership, rooted in a shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of talented journalists across politics and the arts. We look forward to sharing more in the coming months.
Over forty young writers from across the UK have been shortlisted for The Orwell Youth Prize 2026, responding to the theme of TRUTH.
This year’s Orwell Youth Prize theme was an exceptionally popular one. Our entrants took TRUTH in a multitude of different directions, casting their eyes inwards, upon themselves and their experience, as well as outwards towards the state of Britain and the world beyond.
With the help of our brilliant team of volunteer readers, the same readers who also offer individual feedback to every entrant who requests it, we have shortlisted 47 standout entries for our judges, Sophia Smith Galer, James Bloodworth, and Nandana Dev Sen, to consider. Fifteen winners and runners-up will be announced at the Orwell Prize ceremony at University College London on 25 June.
Free event | Second Home, Spitalfields, 6.30 PM
In this special event, hosted by Libreria Bookshop, three Orwell Prize finalists - Tahmima Anam (Uprising), Karen Bartlett (The Escape from Kabul) and Sam Dalrymple (Shattered Lands) - will be in conversation with Rohan Silva, chair of the panel for the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Writing.
Across fiction and nonfiction, the evening will explore the ways in which political writing can challenge orthodoxies, document reality, and offer alternative ways of thinking about our future.
Free event | University College London, 6:30 PM
Is it possible to develop a shared sense of nationhood that transcends the narrow and exclusive version offered by national populism?
Join The Political Quarterly and The Orwell Foundation at UCL for what promises to a timely debate on ‘Englishness, Britishness and the Populist Challenge’, drawing on Orwell’s own reflections in his seminal essay ‘The Lion and the Unicorn’.
The event will be chaired by Rosie Campbell, who will be joined by panellists Pippa Catterall, John Denham, Tom McTague and Ros Wynne-Jones.
From £5.94 | Paddington, London, 7.00 PM
Andrey Kurkov (Three Years on Fire: The Destruction of Ukraine) and Manisha Ganguly (Investigations Correspondent, The Guardian) join Kim Darroch, Chair of the Orwell Foundation, to discuss their Orwell Prize shortlisted reporting on war crimes in Ukraine, and our age of impunity.
Head to our website to explore The Orwell Prize shortlists: you’ll find exclusive extracts from all the books nominated in this year’s awards, as well as links to all the nominated reporting. Once you’ve chosen your books, visit The Orwell Prize page on The Guardian bookshop for a 20% discount on the recommended retail price.
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