Orwell Political Fiction Book Prize 2025

In 2019, The Orwell Foundation launched a new book prize, The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. The Orwell Book Prize, which was previously for both non-fiction and fiction, was renamed the Orwell Prize for Political Writing and is open to non-fiction only.

The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction rewards 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.

The prize was originally established with support from the Orwell estate’s literary agency, A. M. Heath, and George Orwell’s son, Richard Blair. The Foundation, which is based at UCL’s Institute of Advanced Studies, works closely with the Department of English Language and Literature at UCL, who also nominate one of the prize’s judges.