Enter the Prize

The Orwell Youth Prize 2021 is now open and this year’s theme is “Coming Up For Air: Writing the Climate Crisis”

Please use this form to submit your application to the Orwell Youth Prize. You can indicate on the form whether you are submitting your piece for feedback, or whether it is your final entry.

All draft entries submitted by the feedback deadline of Friday 22nd April are offered personalised feedback. We’ll  send you your feedback as soon as possible, to give you time to resubmit your final draft by our final deadline of Friday 3rd June.

If you have any questions, check out our answers to some FAQs (‘frequently asked questions‘) or get in touch. Don’t forget to read the rules!

We have a question for all our entrants…

The Orwell Youth Prize believes wholeheartedly in the power of great political writing. But we also support ideas and the potential of the collective voice of our entrants. As a result, we are asking every entrant this year to submit a short response (up to 1000 characters) to the following question alongside their individual entry:

  • What one positive change would you like to see to help tackle the climate crisis?

Enter the Orwell Youth Prize 2022

  • About You

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY

  • Your Entry

    The word limit is 1,000 words for junior entries and 1,500 for senior entries. Your submission should not include your name in the document (Word or PDF) and the file should be named as the title, eg "Animal Farm.docx"
    The deadline for feedback was 22nd April 2022. If you submit after this deadline, please indicate that this is your final entry.
  • Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 10 MB.
    Attach your entry below in a single Microsoft Word or PDF file. Try not to include your name anywhere in your piece. Your piece will need a title: use this title to name your document. For example, if my piece was called 'Animal Farm', my entry would be: AnimalFarm.doc If you have used Twine to create a game design, please simply upload a document with a few sentences describing the concept for your game. You can then enter your unique URL below!
  • If you have used Twine to create a game design, you can enter your unique URL here.

  • Coming Up For Air: A Question For All Entrants

    The Orwell Youth Prize believes wholeheartedly in the power of great political writing. But we also support ideas and the potential of the collective voice of our entrants. As a result, we are asking every entrant this year to submit a short response (up to 1000 characters) to the following question alongside their individual entry: What one positive change would you like to see to help tackle the climate crisis?

  • Safeguarding

    To comply with safeguarding guidelines, we require the contact details of a parent, legal guardian or teacher.

  • Equal Opportunities

    The Orwell Youth Prize is open to all students in years 8 - 13 (or equivalent) based in the UK and strives to reach young people from diverse backgrounds and geographic locations. The collection of information on your background and geography allows us to monitor our progress and improve our offer for young people. Should you have any questions on how your data is used or stored please see our data protection policy or email admin@orwellyouthprize.co.uk.
  • Ethnic origin is not about nationality, place of birth or citizenship. It is about the group to which you perceive you belong.

  • Your School or College

    Please enter the name, address and contact details for your school or college. The Orwell Youth Prize is open to all students in years 8 - 13 (or equivalent) in the United Kingdom.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.