Wednesday 14 May 2025
The Orwell Foundation is proud to announce the finalists for the 2025 Orwell Prizes, recognising outstanding writing and reporting across fiction, non-fiction, journalism, and reporting on homelessness, in all its forms.
Each shortlist celebrates work that aspires to Orwell’s ambition to “make political writing into an art”, and his values of clarity, courage, and fidelity to truth.
Browse the full lists below, along with reflections from this year’s chairs of judges, or click here to explore each entry. The winners will be revealed at the Orwell Prize Ceremony on 25 June 2025, where we’ll also celebrate the winners of The Orwell Youth Prize, the next generation of politically-engaged writers.
Before then, don’t miss The Orwell Festival (27 May – 25 June), which is returning to London next month for a series of timely conversations inspired by Orwell’s own work. The programme includes guest appearances from many of this year’s judges and finalists, with final events and speakers still to be announced. Friends of the Foundation go free.
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
“Participating in the judging panel for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing has been both a pleasure and a privilege. Perhaps inevitably: the final list tilts towards The Great Powers: war in Europe, China and the West, Donald Trump’s America. These books show us how we got here, but there are also human stories of courage, sometimes tragic, from the past and present. And now just one task remains, the hardest of all: choosing a winner.”
Kim Darroch, Chair of Judges, Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2025
Finalists:
- Looking at Women, Looking at War – Victoria Amelina (William Collins)
- Autocracy Inc – Anne Applebaum (Allen Lane)
- The Baton and the Cross – Lucy Ash (Icon Books)
- The Coming Storm – Gabriel Gatehouse (BBC Books)
- Broken Threads – Mishal Husain (4th Estate)
- The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad – Simon Parkin (Sceptre)
- At the Edge of Empire – Edward Wong (Profile)
- The World of the Cold War: 1945 – 1991 – Vladislav Zubok (Pelican)
The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
“Troubled times lure out the very best from fiction. Our shortlist, we agreed, should showcase fine writing in general but also a purposeful, and not a casual, engagement with politics – anything from national party politics to the politics of gender, family, race, community or work. We have selected eight complex and challenging novels. Only one can win. All should be read.”
Jim Crace, Chair of Judges, Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2025
Finalists:
- Dream Count – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (4th Estate)
- Universality – Natasha Brown (Faber)
- The Harrow – Noah Eaton (Atlantic)
- Precipice – Robert Harris (Cornerstone)
- The Accidental Immigrants – Jo McMillan (Bluemoose)
- Heart, Be At Peace – Donal Ryan (Doubleday)
- There Are Rivers in the Sky – Elif Shafak (Viking)
- Parallel Lines – Edward St Aubyn (Jonathan Cape)
The Orwell Prize for Journalism
“The entries to this year’s Orwell Prize for Journalism are exceptional. They range from eyewitness accounts in war zones to thought-provoking political essays across investigations, opinion columns, reportage, long-reads, podcasts and YouTube videos. In these times when journalism appears to have a daunting future, it’s inspiring to see so many reporters, writers, and broadcasters using their clear, brave writing to expose injustices and to hold the powerful accountable.”
Matt Walsh, Chair of Judges, Orwell Prize for Journalism 2025
Finalists:
- Hannah Barnes – The New Statesman
- Alexander Clapp – 1843 Magazine, The Guardian, London Review of Books
- Dani Garavelli – London Review of Books, The Bell
- Andrew Harding – BBC News
- Jenny Kleeman – The Guardian, Financial Times, BBC Radio 4
- Sarah O’Connor – Financial Times
- Arkady Ostrovsky – The Economist
- Charles Thomson – Hackney Gazette, Romford Recorder, PROOF
- Mark Townsend – The Guardian
The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness
In partnership with the Centre for Homelessness Impact
“As judges, we were deeply impressed by the strength and diversity of this year’s entries. This shortlist represents the entries that, in our collective assessment, demonstrate the most promising and impactful approaches to driving positive change through insightful and compelling reporting. The media has the power to foster meaningful solutions, and we are proud to acknowledge the vital contributions of all our finalists.”
Lígia Teixeira, Chair of Judges, Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness 2025
Finalists:
- Greg Barradale – Big Issue
- Niall Christie – TFN (Third Force News)
- David Cohen – The Standard and The London Standard
- Luke Donnelly, Callum Cuddeford, Facundo Arrizabalaga, Adrian Zorzut, Jake Holden, Harrison Galliven & Adam Toms – My London
- Daniel Hewitt, David Williams & Imogen Barrer – ITV News
- Simon Murphy – The Daily Mirror
- Vicky Spratt – The i Paper
- Katharine Swindells – Inside Housing, The Guardian
- Liam Thorp – Liverpool Echo
In addition, the judges also commended two standout unpublished entries:
- Kit Storey – I Live in Cathedral Square, a vividly written account of street and ‘legal’ homelessness. Kit will receive a place on an Arvon writing course.
- Justin Brown – Spectra of Displacement, a spoken-word album exploring homelessness, featuring Jen Ramm, Goody from Leeds, and Japes. Justin has been invited to perform live at the Orwell Prize Ceremony.
Congratulations to all our finalists. We would also like to thank all our partners, sponsors, Patrons and Friends, and especially our founding patron Richard Blair and founding sponsors The Political Quarterly, for making this year’s awards possible.
