February 28, 2008

Record entries for Orwell political writing prize

The George Orwell Prize has received a record number of entries this year’s awards for best political book and political journalism.

The book prize had 181 entrants and 54 journalists were put forward for the reporting category.

Twelve made it on to the journalism category longlist, including a wide variety of correspondents. Martin Bright, New Statesman political editor; Bronwen Maddox, chief foreign commentator of The Times; Observer columnist Andrew Rawnsley; the BBC‘s North America editor Justin Webb and The Herald’s UK political editor Mike Settle all made the list.

In the books category, former Number Ten spin doctor and Mirror political editor Alistair Campbell’s diary The Blair Years is nominated as is What’s Left by Observer columnist Nick Cohen and A Modern History of Britain by former BBC political editor Andrew Marr.

Chair of judges, Professor Jean Seaton, said: ‘Politics is more necessary than ever and yet in our safe democracies has spent a decade being reviled – but as this year’s Orwell entries show, we are on the brink of a new age of political writing.”

The shortlist will be announced at a debate on politics hosted by Reuters on 26 March and the final results of the prizes, which this year each have an increased cash prize of £3,000, will be revealed at the Foreign Press Association on 24 April.