Rules | The Orwell Foundation

There are currently five prizes:

The Orwell Prize for Political Writing awarded to a work of non-fiction. ‘Political’ is defined in the broadest sense, including entries addressing political, social, cultural, moral and historical subjects.
The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction awarded to a work of fiction, including short stories, graphic novels and YA.
The Orwell Prize for Journalism awarded to a journalist for sustained reportage and/or commentary working in any medium.
The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils awarded to a journalist enhancing the public understanding of social problems and public policy in the UK, communicated across multiple platforms.
The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness awarded for reportage and/or commentary on homelessness.

In addition, Special Prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the judges.

You can find the most recent version of the rules for each Prize below. Rules are updated each year.

THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING (2023)

INTRODUCTION

1/ The Orwell Prize for Political Writing is awarded annually. The Prize awarded in June 2023 (the 2023 Prize) will recognise work first published between 1st June 2022 and 31st May 2023. Submissions are open until 16^th January 2023, with any final copies of books due by 28^th February 2023.

2/ It is named in memory of George Orwell, the British journalist, novelist and essayist.

3/ Both The Orwell Prize for Political Writing and its sister prize, The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, aim to encourage good writing and thinking about political themes. The winning entry of The Orwell Prize for Political Writing should strive to meet Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. Work should be of equal excellence in style and content and live up to the values of Orwell and the Orwell Foundation.

4/ ‘Political’ is defined in the broadest sense, including (but not limited to) entries addressing political, social, cultural, moral and historical subjects and can include pamphlets, books published by think tanks, diaries, memoirs, letters and essays.

5/ The Orwell Prize for Political Writing is worth £3,000 to the winner.

ELIGIBILITY

6/ Works of non-fiction must be first published in either print and/or electronic format, or both, in the UK or Ireland between 1st June 2022 and 31st May 2023 by a recognised publisher or imprint based in the UK or Ireland. If a book is also published in another territory, it must be published simultaneously, in print, in the UK or Ireland. All submitted titles should have their own ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and be available in either pounds sterling or, in the case of books published in the Republic of Ireland, euros through UK and Irish retailers.

7/ A completed submission consists of the completed entry form including e-book and press release, and two physical copies of the book. Submissions must be received by the deadline.

If you have any questions about eligibility, please get in touch with the administrator.

8/ Each publisher or imprint may submit a maximum of five books to the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The judges may wish to call in other titles from a publisher or imprint, which will not count towards a publishers limit. We reserve the right to call in copies to do so at any point during the process.

9/ A book published in paperback within the eligibility period, which was previously published in hardback before the eligibility period, is not eligible for the 2023 Prize for Political Writing. Original paperbacks published between 1st June 2022 and 31st May 2023 are eligible.

10/ A single author, or very small team of authors, must be clearly identifiable. Anthologies consisting of work by more than one author will not be accepted, but books where co-authors, up to a maximum of three, have worked on the entire book together are eligible.

11/ Revised editions and reprints will not be considered, unless the revisions are so major as to effectively render the entry a new publication.

12/ Works published in translation are ineligible.

13/ Self-published books, i.e. where the book is published by a company set up by the author solely for the purpose of publishing that book, or where the author is the publisher, are ineligible.

14/ Publishers may enter as many of The Orwell Foundation Prizes for which the work is eligible in the same year – i.e. a writer can be entered for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing, The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, The Orwell Prize for Journalism and the Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness in the same year.

15/ If a book makes it to the finalist stage (see process section below for more information), the publisher of the book will be required to pay a £750 fee towards marketing and event costs.

We are able to grant exemptions or reductions from this payment in certain cases, at the discretion of The Orwell Foundation. Please contact the administrator.

16/ If a book makes it to the finalist stage, the author is requested to make themselves available to participate in the Orwell Festival of Political Writing 2023 in some form, which will take place in Central London in June 2023. Information will be sent to authors in May 2023. Whilst this will be a largely in-person festival, and we will encourage in-person participation, we are able to be flexible if authors cannot travel and must participate digitally.

17/ A disclaimer from the publisher or author is required for all entries (a checkbox on the online form) stating that the submitted work is all the author’s own and has not been plagiarised, or is otherwise primarily the work of somebody else.

18/ The final decision on the eligibility of a submission rests with the director and administrators of the Prize, subject to the oversight of Trustees of The Orwell Foundation.

19/ Judges are not permitted to enter the Prize in the year they are judging.

20/ Members of the boards of any of the Foundation’s partners or Trustees of The Orwell Foundation are not permitted to enter.

PROCESS

21/ The entry form can be found here.

22/ In the first instance, the publisher should enter two hard copies of the submitted book, and one one copy of the book in electronic form in PDF. A completed online entry form should also be submitted. Please send the hard copies to:

The Orwell Prize for Political Writing

Institute of Advanced Studies

South Wing, Wilkins Building

UCL, Gower Street

London WC1E 6BT

You may then be asked to submit further physical copies for consideration (up to six copies).

23/ The deadline for entry forms is Monday 16^th January. Please send physical copies as soon as they are available. Hard copies of all entries should be received by 28^th February 2023; if finished copies are not available, we will accept printed manuscripts or uncorrected proof copies.

Entrants should receive emailed confirmation of receiving their entry. If they do not, they should contact the administrator.

24/ Judges may call in any titles they wish to consider provided they meet the eligibility criteria of the prize.

25/ A list of finalists will be announced in May 2023. Typically, this will consist of eight books. The judges may opt to longlist fewer or more entries at their discretion.

26/ A winner will be announced in June 2023.

27/ If their book is a finalist, the author is requested to make themselves available for interviews and participate in the Orwell Festival of Political Writing 2023, and attend the awards ceremony in June 2023. The winner of the Prize will be announced alongside the winners of The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.

28/ If a finalist, the author may be briefed about The Orwell Youth Prize, and asked to consider taking part in a school workshop. Orwell Youth Prize school workshops give young people the opportunity to meet professional writers.

29/ Finalists may be asked to write a piece for The Orwell Foundation website, speak at events, and represent the Prize when requested.

30/ The Prize expects as much assistance as possible from publishers of finalist and winning books in publicising the achievement. This includes carrying the news on their websites and in press releases, and highlighting the achievement in future editions of successful books, making the award of the Prize clear on subsequent reprint covers etc.

31/ If a book is a finalist or winner, The Orwell Foundation may request a number of copies for promotional purposes.

32/ If a book is a finalist or winner, ‘The Orwell Prize 2023: Finalist′ or ‘The Orwell Prize 2023: Winner′ stickers will be available to publishers and booksellers as digital files alongside other marketing materials.

33/ Publishers may be asked to approve relevant, short, extracts of any books by finalist authors for use on the Orwell Foundation website and in publicity.

THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION (2023)

INTRODUCTION

1/ The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction is awarded annually. The Prize awarded in June 2023 (the 2023 Prize) will recognise work first published between 1st June 2022 and 31st May 2023. Submissions are open until 16^th January 2023, with any final copies of books due by 28^th February 2023.

2/ It is named in memory of George Orwell, the British novelist, journalist and essayist.

3/ Both The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and its sister prize, The Orwell Prize for Political Writing, aim to encourage good writing and thinking about political themes. The winning entry of The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction should strive to meet Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. Work should be of equal excellence in style and content and live up to the values of Orwell and the Orwell Foundation.

4/ The Orwell Prize for Political Writing is worth £3,000 to the winner.

ELIGIBILITY

5/ Works of fiction must be first published in either print and/or electronic format, or both, in the UK or Ireland between 1st June 2022 and 31st May 2023 by a recognised publisher or imprint based in the UK or Ireland. If a book is also published in another territory, it must be published simultaneously, in print, in the UK or Ireland. All submitted titles should have their own ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and be available in either pounds sterling or, in the case of books published in the Republic of Ireland, euros through UK and Irish retailers.

6/ A completed submission consists of the completed entry form including e-book and press release, and two physical copies of the book. Submissions must be received by the deadline.

If you have any questions about eligibility, please get in touch with the administrator.

7/ Each publisher or imprint may submit a maximum of five books to the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The judges may wish to call in other titles from a publisher or imprint, which will not count towards a publishers limit. We reserve the right to call in copies to do so at any point during the process.

8/ A book published in paperback within the eligibility period, which was previously published in hardback before the eligibility period, is not eligible for the 2022 Prize for Political Fiction. Original paperbacks published between 1st June 2022 and 31st May 2023. are eligible.

9/ Short story collections by a single author are eligible but anthologies by either a single writer or multiple contributors will not be accepted. Stories in a collection may have been previously published in magazines or journals, but not in a previous collection by the author.

10/ Fiction for young adults and graphic novels are eligible.

11/ Works published in translation are ineligible.

12/ Self-published books, i.e. where the book is published by a company set up by the author solely for the purpose of publishing that book, or where the author is the publisher, are ineligible.

13/ Publishers may enter as many of The Orwell Foundation Prizes for which the work is eligible in the same year – i.e. a writer can be entered for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing, The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, The Orwell Prize for Journalism and The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness in the same year.

14/ If a book makes it to the finalist stage (see process section below for more information), the publisher of the book will be required to pay a £750 fee towards marketing and event costs.

We are able to grant exemptions or reductions from this payment in certain cases, at the discretion of The Orwell Foundation. Please contact the administrator.

18/ The final decision on the eligibility of a submission rests with the director and administrators of the Prize, subject to the oversight of Trustees of The Orwell Foundation.

19/ Judges are not permitted to enter the Prize in the year they are judging.

20/ Members of the boards of any of the Foundation’s partners or Trustees of The Orwell Foundation are not permitted to enter.

PROCESS

21/ The entry form can be found here.

The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction

Institute of Advanced Studies

South Wing, Wilkins Building

UCL, Gower Street

London WC1E 6BT

You may then be asked to submit further physical copies for consideration (up to six copies).

23/ The deadline for entry forms is Monday 16^th January 2023. Please send physical copies as soon as they are available. Hard copies of all entries should be received by 28^th February 2023; if finished copies are not available, we will accept printed manuscripts or uncorrected proof copies.

Entrants should receive emailed confirmation of receiving their entry. If they do not, they should contact the administrator.

24/ Judges may call in any titles they wish to consider provided they meet the eligibility criteria of the prize.

25/ A list of finalists will be announced in May 2023. Typically, this will consist of eight books. The judges may opt to longlist fewer or more entries at their discretion.

26/ A winner will be announced in June 2023.

29/ Finalists may be asked to write a piece for The Orwell Foundation website, speak at events, and represent the Prize when requested.

31/ If a book is a finalist or winner, The Orwell Foundation may request a number of copies for promotional purposes.

33/ Publishers may be asked to approve relevant, short, extracts of any books by finalist authors for use on the Orwell Foundation website and in publicity.

THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR JOURNALISM (2023)

INTRODUCTION

1/ The Orwell Prize for Journalism (‘the Prize’) is awarded annually. The Prize, awarded in June 2023 (the 2023 Prize) will recognise work first published between 1st April 2022 and 31^st March 2023. Submissions are open between 24^th November 2022 and 31^st March 2023.

2/ It is named in memory of George Orwell, the British journalist, novelist and essayist.

3/ The Orwell Prize for Journalism is awarded for sustained reportage and/or commentary on, working in any medium. The winning entry should strive to meet Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. The work should be of equal excellence in style and content and live up to the values of The Orwell Foundation.

4/ The Orwell Prize for Journalism is worth £3,000 to the winner.

5/ Both The Orwell Prize for Journalism 2023 and The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils 2023 will be awarded by a single panel of independent judges.

ELIGIBILITY

6/ A completed submission consists of a minimum of three items published by a recognised publisher, news organisation or broadcaster, and a maximum of four items in total.

7/ The fourth item, which is optional, may be self-published, for instance on a blog or personal newsletter (or may also be published by a recognised publisher).

8/ Entries may include work produced for more than one publication.

9/ Items may be in any medium: written pieces (online or in print), television items, podcast episodes or radio broadcasts are all eligible, and entries may consist of any combination of different media. Transcripts will not be required.

10/ The total broadcast or listening time of any entry (i.e. the combined length of all items) must not exceed two hours. There is no word limit.

11/ Each entry should be accompanied by a supporting statement (maximum 1200 characters) offering a brief summary of the project. If entrants believe there is additional material which would provide important context to their entry, they are encouraged to draw attention to this in their statement. It is for the judges’ discretion as to whether or not they wish to pursue these recommendations.

12/ All submissions must be accompanied by a completed entry form. Submissions must be received by the deadline.

13/ All items submitted as part of an entry to the Prize must be first published between 1st April 2022 and 31^st March 2023.

14/ Entries must be able to demonstrate a link to the UK and/or Ireland by meeting one or more of the following criteria: a) The articles submitted were first published in the UK and/or Ireland b) one or more of the authors was based in the UK and/or in Ireland at the time of publication c) one or more of the authors is a UK or Irish citizen. Entries where only one author is a UK/Irish citizen or resident are eligible.

15/ A single author, or very small team of authors, must be clearly identifiable. Entries consisting of single items by different authors will not be accepted, but entries where co-authors have worked on all three pieces will be. Entries where a named journalist has written two or three articles alone and presented a television programme with a larger production team would also be accepted as an individual entry. Similarly, entries where an identifiable team has worked on two or three items, and one member of the team has written a single related item, would be accepted as a joint entry.

16/ Entries may be submitted by the author, or the author may be entered for the Prize by an editor, publisher or awards administrator.

17/ A disclaimer from the publisher, editor or author is required for all entries (a checkbox on the online form) stating that the submitted work is all the author’s own and has not been plagiarised or is otherwise primarily the work of somebody else.

18/ There is no limit to the number of journalists who may enter the Prize from a single publication or news organisation.

19/ Journalists may choose to name an editor on their form, who will be informed if the entry is chosen as a finalist and invited to any Prize events.

20/ Journalists may enter both The Orwell Prize for Journalism and The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils in the same year.

21/ Winners of The Orwell Prize for Journalism may not enter the Prize for three Prize cycles, during which time they remain eligible for any other of The Orwell Prizes, including The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils.

22/ Articles published in translation are ineligible.

23/ There is no entry fee to enter the Prize. If an entry makes it to the finalist stage, the author/s are expected to make themselves available to participate in the Orwell Festival of Political Writing 2023 in some form, which will take place in Central London 7-22^nd June 2023. Information will be sent in May 2023. Whilst this will be a largely in-person festival, and we will encourage in-person participation, we are able to be flexible if authors cannot travel and must participate digitally.

24/ Judges are not permitted to enter the Prize in the year they are judging.

25/ Members of the boards of any of the Foundation’s partners, or Trustees of The Orwell Foundation, are not permitted to enter.

26/ The final decision on the eligibility of a submission rests with the Director and administrator of the Prize, subject to the oversight of the Trustees of The Orwell Foundation.

27/ If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact the administrator.

PROCESS

28/ The entry form can be found here.

29/ Every submitted written item must be sent as a PDF or Word document in A4 and accompanied by a permanent, accessible, non-expiring URL where available.

30/ Multimedia items may be embedded or submitted as a permanent, accessible, non-expiring URL. If it is not possible to embed or submit your item, please contact the administrator, who will work with you to facilitate your entry by other means.

31/ Files uploaded to the form must be named in the following format: entrant’s surname, entrant’s first name, article number (all one word, with no spaces). For example, Eric Blair’s first article would be titled ‘BlairEric1.doc’ and Eric Blair’s second article would be titled ‘BlairEric2.doc’. For items with more than one author, the surnames of each author should be used instead of first names. For example, Snowball and Napoleon’s first item would be titled ‘NapoleonSnowball1.doc’.

32/ The entrant’s contact details (email address) will be held by the Foundation for seven years following submission, in which time it will only be used to contact the entrant about their entry and/or to facilitate their entry to the Prize in the future.

33/ A byline photograph with no rights reserved must accompany every entry.

34/ A list of finalists will be announced in May 2023. Typically, this will consist of eight to ten entries. The judges may opt to shortlist fewer or more entries at their discretion.

35/ A winner will be announced on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change].

36/ If they are a finalist, journalists are expected to make themselves available for interviews and participate in the Orwell Festival of Political Writing 2023, which will be held in Central London 7^th-21^stJune 2023, and the awards ceremony on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change]. The winner of the Prize will be announced alongside the winners of The Orwell Prize for Political Writing, The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness.

37/ If a finalist, journalists may be briefed about The Orwell Youth Prize, a programme for young people, and asked to consider taking part in a Youth Prize workshop or be interviewed by a young writer. The Orwell Youth Prize gives young people the opportunity to meet professional writers and develop their own confidence writing and articulating their ideas about politics and society.

38/ Finalists may be asked to write a piece for The Orwell Foundation website, speak at events, and represent the Prize when requested.

39/ Finalists will be expected to complete a questionnaire for use in evaluating the effect of the Prize in the months after the awards ceremony on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change].

40/ Publishers may be asked to approve relevant, short, extracts of any items by finalists for use on the Orwell Foundation website and in publicity.

41/ The Prize expects as much assistance as possible from finalists and their editors in publicising their achievement. This includes carrying the news on their websites and in press releases.

42/ Entrants should receive emailed confirmation of receiving their entry. If they do not, they should contact the administrator.

THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR EXPOSING BRITAIN’S SOCIAL EVILS (2023)

INTRODUCTION

1/ The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils (‘the Prize’) is awarded annually. The Prize, awarded on 22^nd June 2023 (the 2023 Prize) will recognise work first published between 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2023. Submissions are open between 24^th November 2022 and 31st March 2023.

2/ The Prize, previously and for many years sponsored by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is named after the task which Joseph Rowntree set his organisation ‘to search out the underlying causes of weakness or evil’ that lay behind Britain’s social problems.

3/ The winning entry should consist of a story that has enhanced the public understanding of social problems and public policy in the UK. It should be of equal excellence in style and content and live up to the values of The Orwell Foundation.

4/ The Prize supports and encourages original, insightful and impactful reporting on social issues in the UK and encourages entries from reporting that extends the reach of traditional media. Entries may therefore feature a range of platforms and media.

5/ The winner will receive £3,000.

6/ The Orwell Prize for Journalism 2023 and The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils 2023 will be awarded by a single panel of independent judges.

ELIGIBILITY

7/ A completed submission consists of a supporting statement, up to six pieces of content, and a completed entry form. For example, an entry might consist of two podcasts and one piece of video content, or one piece of writing and three pieces of photojournalism. All items submitted should contribute to the story.

8/ The Prize encourages entries from reporting that extends the reach of traditional media. Entries may be communicated across in any medium, including any number and combination of the following platforms: journalistic writing (online or in print); video content (e.g. documentary films broadcasts); audio content (podcasts, radio broadcasts etc); social media (vlogs, infographics, Twitter threads etc.); photojournalism.

9/ Each entry should be accompanied by a supporting statement (maximum 1200 characters) to expand on their motivations, methods, and impact on public understanding. If entrants believe there is additional material which would provide important context to their entry, they are encouraged to draw attention to this in their statement. It is for the judges’ discretion as to whether or not they wish to pursue these recommendations.

10/ All submissions must be accompanied by a completed entry form. Submissions must be received by the deadline.

11/ The deadline is 31st March 2023. Entries must be received before the deadline.

12/ The total broadcast or listening time of any entry (i.e. the combined length of all items) must not exceed two hours. There is no word limit.

13/ Entries must be able to demonstrate a link to the UK and/or Ireland by meeting one or more of the following criteria: a) The articles submitted were first published in the UK and/or Ireland b) one or more of the authors was based in the UK and/or in Ireland at the time of publication c) one or more of the authors is a UK or Irish citizen. Entries where only one author is a UK/Irish citizen or resident are eligible.

14/ All items submitted as part of an entry to the Prize must be first published between 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2023.

15/ A single author, or very small team of authors, must be clearly identifiable. Entries consisting of single items by different authors will not be accepted, but entries where co-authors have worked on all six pieces will be. Entries where a named journalist has written two or three articles alone and presented a television programme with a larger production team would also be accepted as an individual entry. Similarly, entries where an identifiable team has worked on five items, and one member of the team has written a single related item, would be accepted as a joint entry.

16/ There is no limit to the number of journalists who may enter the Prize from a single publication or news organisation.

17/ Entries may include work produced for more than one publication.

18/ Journalists may enter both The Orwell Prize for Journalism and The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils in the same year.

19/ Articles published in translation are ineligible.

20/ There is no entry fee to enter the Prize. If an entry makes it to the finalist stage, the author/s are expected to make themselves available to participate in the Orwell Festival of Political Writing 2023 in some form, which will take place in Central London in early June 2023. Information will be sent in May 2023. Whilst this will be a largely in-person festival, and we will encourage in-person participation, we are able to be flexible if authors cannot travel and must participate digitally.

21/ A disclaimer from the publisher, editor or author is required for all entries (a checkbox on the online form) stating that the submitted work is all the author’s own and has not been plagiarised or is otherwise primarily the work of somebody else.

22/ Judges are not permitted to enter the Prize in the year they are judging.

23/ Members of the boards of any of the Foundation’s partners, or Trustees of The Orwell Foundation, are not permitted to enter.

24/ Winners of the Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils are not eligible for three Prize cycles, during which time they remain eligible for any other of the Orwell Prizes.

25/ The final decision on the eligibility of a submission rests with the Director, Deputy Director and Programme Managers of The Orwell Foundation, subject to the oversight of the Trustees of The Orwell Foundation.

PROCESS

26/ Entry is made via the online form which can be found here.

27/ A byline photograph with no rights reserved must accompany every entry form.

28/ Television, radio items or social media items may be embedded or submitted as a permanent, accessible, non-expiring URL.

29/ Journalistic writing should be uploaded as a file (PDF or Word) and/or a permanent, accessible, non-expiring URL.

30/ Photojournalism should be uploaded as a file (PNG or JPG) and/or a permanent, accessible, non-expiring URL.

33/ Judges may call in any work they wish to consider provided it meets the eligibility criteria of the Prize.

34/ A list of finalists will be announced in May 2023. Typically, this will consist of eight to ten entries. The judges may opt to shortlist fewer or more entries at their discretion.

35/ A winner will be announced on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change].

36/ If they are a finalist, journalists are expected to make themselves available for interviews and participate in the Orwell Festival of Political Writing 2023, which will be held in Central London between 7^th & 21^st June 2023 and the awards ceremony on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change]. The winner of the Prize will be announced alongside the winners of The Orwell Prize for Political Writing, The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and The Orwell Prize for Journalism.

38/ Finalists may be asked to write a piece for The Orwell Foundation website, speak at events, and represent the Prize when requested.

39/ Publishers may be asked to approve relevant, short, extracts of any items by finalists for use on the Orwell Foundation website and in publicity.

40/ The Prize expects as much assistance as possible from finalists and their editors in publicising their achievement. This includes carrying the news on their websites and in press releases.

41/ Finalists will be expected to complete a questionnaire for use in evaluating the effect of the Prize in the months after the awards ceremony on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change].

42/ Entrants should receive emailed confirmation of receiving their entry. If they do not, they should contact the administrator.

43/ If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact the administrator.

THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR REPORTING HOMELESSNESS (2023)

Please note: as of 15^thMarch 2023 the deadline for entry to the Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness has been extended to the 17^thApril 2023.

INTRODUCTION

1/ The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness (‘the Prize’) is awarded annually. The Prize, awarded in June 2023 (the 2023 Prize) will recognise work first created or published between 1^st April 2021 and 17^thApril 2023 (previously 1^st April 2021 and 31^st March 2023).

2/ It is named in memory of George Orwell, the British journalist, novelist and essayist.

3/ The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness is awarded for reportage and/or commentary on homelessness. Entries will be encouraged from people who are experiencing or have experienced all forms of homelessness as well as journalists and others writing about or reporting on homelessness. The winning entry should strive to meet Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. The work should be of equal excellence in style and content and live up to the values of The Orwell Foundation

4/ The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness is worth £3000 (cash prize) to the winner.

ELIGIBILITY

5/ A completed submission consists of a minimum of 1 item, and a maximum of 3 items in total.

6/ Entries from journalists may include work produced for more than one publication.

7/ Items may be in any medium, such as written journalism or creative writing, video and audio content including video diaries, photojournalism (which must include text as well as photos) and social media content. Transcripts of audio or video work will not be required. Books are not eligible for the Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness.

8/ The total broadcast or listening time of any video or audio entry (i.e. the combined length of all items) must not exceed two hours. There is no word limit for text-based entries.

9/ Each entry should be accompanied by a supporting statement, offering a brief summary of the project. If entrants believe there is additional material which would provide important context to their entry, they are encouraged to draw attention to this in their statement. It is for the judges’ discretion as to whether or not they wish to pursue these recommendations.

10/ Submissions must be received by the revised deadline, 17^thApril 2023 (previously 31^st March 2023). All submissions must be accompanied by a completed entry form.

11/ Entries must be able to demonstrate a link to the UK and/or Ireland by meeting one or more of the following criteria: a) The entries submitted were first published or created in the UK and/or Ireland b) one or more of the entrants was based in the UK and/or in Ireland at the time of publication or creation c) one or more of the entrants is a UK or Irish citizen.

12/ A single author, or very small team of authors, must be clearly identifiable. Entries consisting of single items by different authors will not be accepted, but entries where co-authors have worked on all three pieces will be. Entries where a named journalist has written two or three articles alone and presented a television programme with a larger production team would also be accepted as an individual entry. Similarly, entries where an identifiable team has worked on two or three items, and one member of the team has written a single related item, would be accepted as a joint entry.

13/ Entries may be submitted by the author or the author may be entered for the Prize by an individual or organisation working within the homelessness sector. In this instance, the individual or organisation is required to provide their name, position and relationship to the author and must provide proof that the author wishes their work to be submitted. There is a consent form to complete on the online form for this.

14/ A disclaimer from the author, editor or publisher is required for all entries (a checkbox on the online form) stating that the submitted work is all the author’s own and has not been plagiarised or is otherwise primarily the work of somebody else.

15/ Intellectual Property stays with the entrant. The Orwell Foundation does not need a licence to publish their content. By entering the competition and signing up to these rules, entrants consent to publication.

16/ There is no limit to the number of entrants who may enter the Prize from a single organisation.

17/ Entrants may choose to name another individual, such as a contact in a charity in the Homelessness sector or an editor on their form, who will be informed if the entry is chosen as a finalist and invited to any Prize events.

18/ Entrants may enter both The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness and The Orwell Prize for Journalism in the same year.

19/ Winners of The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness may not enter the Prize for three Prize cycles, during which time they remain eligible for any other of The Orwell Prizes, including The Orwell Prize for Journalism.

20/ Articles published in translation are ineligible.

21/ There is no entry fee to enter the Prize.

22/ Judges are not permitted to enter the Prize in the year they are judging.

23/ Members of the boards of any of the Foundation’s partners, or Trustees of The Orwell Foundation, are not permitted to enter.

24/ The final decision on the eligibility of a submission rests with the Director and administrator of the Prize, subject to the oversight of the Trustees of The Orwell Foundation.

If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact the administrator.

PROCESS

25/ The entry form can be found here.

26/ Every submitted written item must be sent as a PDF or Word document in A4 and accompanied by a permanent, accessible, non-expiring URL where available.

27/ Multimedia items may be embedded or submitted as a permanent, accessible, non-expiring URL. If it is not possible to embed or submit your item, please contact the administrator who will work with you to facilitate your entry by other means.

28/ Files uploaded to the form must be named in the following format: entrant’s surname, entrant’s first name, article number (all one word, with no spaces). For example, Eric Blair’s first article would be titled ‘BlairEric1.doc’ and Eric Blair’s second article would be titled ‘BlairEric2.doc’. For items with more than one author, the surnames of each author should be used instead of first names. For example, Snowball and Napoleon’s first item would be titled ‘NapoleonSnowball1.doc’.

29/ All entries must portray people experiencing homelessness in a respectful manner, having gained informed and meaningful consent.

30/ The Prize will be awarded for reporting, writing or story-telling on homelessness that uses robust evidence and data, highlights evidence-led solutions and conveys insights from personal experiences of homelessness.

31/ Judges will look for entries that avoid or challenge stigma associated with homelessness, including in the use of language.

32/ It is a requirement each year that at least one member of the judging panel must have lived experience of homelessness.

33/ The entrant’s contact details (email address) will be held by the Foundation for seven years following submission, in which time it will only be used to contact the entrant about their entry and/or to facilitate their entry to the Prize in the future.

34/ A byline photograph with no rights reserved must accompany every entry.

35/ A list of finalists will be announced in May 2023. Typically, this will consist of eight to ten entries. The judges may opt to longlist fewer or more entries at their discretion.

36/ A winner will be announced on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change].

37/ If they are a finalist, entrants are asked to make themselves available for interviews and participate in the Awards Ceremony 2023, which will be held in Central London on 22^nd June 2023 [date subject to change]. The winner of the Prize will be announced alongside the winners of the other three Orwell Prizes, for Political Writing, Political Fiction and for Journalism.

38/ Finalists may be asked to write a piece for The Orwell Foundation website, speak at events, and represent the Prize when requested.

39/ Publishers may be asked to approve relevant, short, extracts of any items by finalists for use on the Orwell Foundation website and in publicity.

40/ Entrants should receive emailed confirmation of receiving their entry. If they do not, they should contact the administrator.

The Orwell Prizes

see also