Announcing the winners of The Orwell Youth Prize 2026
From an impressive range of over 1300 final entries from young writers across the UK, our readers chose a shortlist of 47 stand-out pieces of writing, which were all carefully considered by our judges Sophia Smith Galer, James Bloodworth, and Nandana Sen.
Our entrants responded to the theme of ‘Truth’ in a multitude of different ways casting their eyes both inward to explore personal life experience, and outward to confront wider global issues including censorship, propaganda, and the acts of resistance in the pursuit of freedom and justice.
The 15 winners and runners-up of the Orwell Youth Prize 2026 were announced at the Orwell Prize ceremony at University College London on 25th June. The awards were handed out by George Orwell’s son and the Founding Patron of our charity, Richard Blair who was joined by two of our wonderful judges of the 2026 Orwell Youth Prize—James Bloodworth, and Nandana Sen.
The winners of The Orwell Youth Prize will be featured in The Observer, with all the winning entries published digitally and one in print, reflecting our shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of talented journalists and writers.
In the meantime, thank you to everyone who entered, all our volunteers and judges, and congratulations to our winners.
WINNERS
Aaditri Manjunath, Project Lethe (Years 7, 8 and 9)
Josan Okine, Room 101, Arizona (Years 7, 8 and 9)
Juweria Fatima, Truth in Strands of Hair (Years 10 to 11)
Nevaeh Rawsthorne, The Truth Behind Care Life (Years 10 to 11)
Amina Ematur Rahman, TruthSocial (Years 12 to 13)
Alessandra Chiaromonte, Between Two Frequencies (Years 12 to 13)
RUNNERS UP
Jorsh Rajasansi, Trying to Tell What is Real (Years 7, 8 and 9)
Priya Shah, The Split (Years 7, 8 and 9)
Ethan Choi, Terms and Conditions (Years 7, 8 and 9)
Alys Watts, Starving for the Truth (Years 10 to 11)
Gustav Alpsten, Birds of Lockerbie (Years 10 to 11)
Mathew Bill, The Trouble with Truth (Years 10 to 11)
Mason Brown, Approved Narratives (Years 12 to 13)
Iris Oliver, Conditioned to Ignore (Years 12 to 13)
Mariane Gomes, Before the Light Could Save Me (Years 12 to 13)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Years 7, 8 and 9: Amie Gregory, Emma Huang
Years 10 and 11: Jess Chapman, Faye Thomas
Years 12 and 13: Elisa Saglam
SHORTLISTED
Years 7, 8, and 9 Umaira Ali, Abrar A, Martina Barkley, Ethan Choi, Amie Gregory, Emma Huang, Aaditri Manjunath, Josan Okine, Aryan Prasanna, Jorsh Rajasansi, Tanvi Sawant, Meghani Shanthakumar, Priya Shah, Arthur Vakil Tcherniak, Daisy Wilkinson.
Years 10 to 11 Gustav Alpsten, Johnny Berick, Mathew Bill, Jess Chapman, Dikshikaa Chandranath, Juweria Fatima, Sarani Godagama, James Hayward, Sumaiyah Khan, Shraddha Menon, Alice Monk, Nevaeh Rawsthorne, Zac Read, Sophie Stras, Anvika Thakur, Faye Thomas, Alys Watts, Josh Wong, Debbie Jo, Charlotte Warner.
Years 12 to 13 Dina Argimberde, Leo Baqueiro, Mason Brown, Alessandra Chiaromonte, Amina Ematur Rahman, Lucas Matteo Garrido, Mariane Gomes, James Grant, Maisie Knight, Iris Oliver, Elisa Saglam, Isobel Swanwick