Finalists for the 2026 Orwell Prizes announced

The Orwell Foundation has revealed the finalists for its 2026 journalism prizes, honoring reporting on war crimes, social inequality and homelessness in Britain and around the world. Shortlisted works will compete for awards that recognize political writing and investigative journalism inspired by George Orwell.

Here are the books shortlisted in the political writing category:

• “For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran’s Women-Led Uprising” by Nilo Tabrizy and Fatemeh Jamalpour;
• “Israel: What Went Wrong” by Omer Bartov;
• “Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia” by Sam Dalrymple;
• “Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire” by Antonia Senior;
• “The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth” by Nicolas Niarchos;
• “The Escape from Kabul: A True Story of Sisterhood and Defiance” by Karen Bartlett;
• “The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet” by Yi-Ling Liu.

Andrey Kurkov’s book “Three Years On Fire: The Destruction of Ukraine” has also been shortlisted for the 2026 George Orwell Prize in the political writing category.

The book was published by Open Borders Press. It documents the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Kurkov describes life behind the lines and at the front, as well as experiences of loss, resilience, and daily survival.

“In a series of moving and compelling essays Andrey Kurkov describes life in war-time Kyiv, full of illuminating observations on how Ukrainians have adapted to the dangers and sorrows of a conflict without apparent end, combined with informed political analysis. This volume includes the return of Trump to the White House and the attempted humiliation of Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in late February 2025. Throughout, Kurkov tells the story of a people facing aggression with grace and humour, never allowing us to forget Putin’s responsibility,” said judges.

Winners will be announced at the Prize Ceremony on 25 June 2026 at the Bloomsbury Theatre, University College London.

The Orwell Prizes aim to encourage good writing and thinking about politics. The winning entries should strive to meet Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. They should be of equal excellence in style and content – the writing must be both political and artful. Every year, The Orwell Foundation awards prizes for the work which comes closest to George Orwell’s ambition ‘to make political writing into an art.’ The prize fund amounts to £3,000.

Judges are appointed each year, with a separate panel for each prize, and the decisions they make are theirs alone. Judges are asked to be as objective as possible and put their own political views aside; they are also asked to take into account the Orwell Foundation’s values.

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Main image: Chytomo collage

Images: Prizes website