The Orwell Foundation, named for writer George Orwell, presents prizes each year to celebrate political writing. There are various categories, but the ones I am most interested in are the prizes for political writing and political fiction. Previous winners have included:
- Patrick Radden Keefe - Say Nothing (2019 Political Writing Book Prize)
- Peter Apps - Show Me The Bodies - How We Let Grenfell Happen (2023 Political Writing Book Prize)
- Hisham Matar - My Friends (2024 Political Fiction Book Prize)
- Claire Keegan - Small Things Like These (2022 Political Fiction Book Prize)
- Colson Whitehead - The Nickel Boys (2020 Political Fiction Book Prize)
This year's finalists are:
2026 Political Writing Book Prize Finalists
- Karen Bartlett - The Escape From Kabul
- Omer Bartov - Israel: What Went Wrong?
- Sam Dalrymple - Shattered Lands
- Nilo Tabrizy & Fatemeh Jamalpour - For the Sun After Long Nights
- Andrey Kurkov - Three Years on Fire
- Yi-Ling Liu - The Wall Dancers
- Nicolas Niarchos - The Elements of Power
- Antonia Senior - Stalin's Apostles
2026 Political Fiction Book Prize Finalists
- Tahmima Anam - Uprising
- Susan Choi - Flashlight
- I.O. Echeruo - The Comfort of Distant Stars
- Ben Lerner - Transcription
- Daniyal Mueenuddin - This is Where the Serpent Lives
- Liadan Ní Chuinn - Every One Still Here
- Douglas Stuart - John of John
- Stephanie Sy-Quia - A Private Man
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 25 June 2026 - George Orwell's birthday.