LONGLIST ANNOUNCED: THE FOR BOOKS 2017

EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:00HRS, THURSDAY 16TH MARCH 2017

Longlists for the Orwell Prize for Books 2017, Britain’s most prestigious prize for political writing, were announced today.

 14 books longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Books 2017  Following a year in which ’s name has returned to the heart of political discourse, the Orwell Prize judges choose the most compelling political writing of 2016  Books on the impact of the Hillsborough disaster and FGM in Britain longlisted alongside Hisham Matar’s The Return and New York Times CEO Mark Thompson’s Enough Said  Diverse list features memoir, historical writing, fiction and reporting from established names and new voices, and reaches across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and beyond

The Orwell Prize for Books 2017 longlist (see below for notes):

 The Power by Naomi Alderman (Viking)  Citizen Clem by John Bew (Quercus)  The Seven by Ruth Dudley Edwards (Oneworld)  The Return by Hisham Matar (Viking)  Black and British by David Olusoga (Macmillan)  The Life Project by Helen Pearson (Allen Lane)  Easternisation by Gideon Rachman (The Bodley Head)  All Out War by Tim Shipman (HarperCollins UK)  The Marches by Rory Stewart (Vintage, Jonathan Cape)  Island Story by J. D. Taylor (Repeater)  And the Sun Shines Now by Adrian Tempany (Faber & Faber)  Enough Said by Mark Thompson (The Bodley Head)  Cut by Hibo Wardere, in collaboration with Anna Wharton (Simon & Schuster)  Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge (Guardian Faber)

The judges for the Orwell Prize for Books are Jonathan Derbyshire (Executive Comment Editor, ), playwright and author Bonnie Greer, writer and broadcaster Mark Lawson and writer and critic Erica Wagner. The judges commented:

“From Hadrian’s Wall to Brexit and a dystopian fictional future, this year’s list offers a clear and calm perspective on Britain and its place in the world. The books reflect many aspects of Orwell’s literary character and interests: fiction, journalism, football, language and landscape”.

Shortlists for the Orwell Prize for Books will be announced at a special lecture with Ruth Davidson, Scottish Conservative leader on Monday 15th May 2017, together with shortlists for the Orwell Prize for Journalism and the Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils. The winner of each £3000 prize will be announced at a ceremony during UCL’s Festival of Culture on Thursday 8th June 2017.

Previous winners of the Orwell Prize for Books include Arkady Ostrovsky (2016), Raja Shehadeh (2008), Alan Johnson (2014) and Andrea Gillies (2010).

Notes on the Orwell Prize for Books 2017 Longlist:

The Power by Naomi Alderman (Viking)

 Dystopian novel, which imagines a world in which ‘girls find that with a flick of their fingers they can inflict agonizing pain and even death’.

Citizen Clem by John Bew (Quercus)

 Biography of the post-war Labour Prime Minister by an author praised as ‘the outstanding historian of his generation’.

The Seven by Ruth Dudley Edwards (Oneworld)

 A critical re-examination of the Easter Rising and the ‘fundamental questions and myths surrounding Ireland’s founding fathers’.

The Return by Hisham Matar (Viking)

 Hisham Matar returns to Libya following the fall of Gaddafi, to find his father and rediscover his country; shortlisted for Baillie Gifford Prize and Costa Book Awards.

Black and British by David Olusoga (Macmillan)

 Historian and broadcaster David Olusoga charts the long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa.

The Life Project by Helen Pearson (Allen Lane)

 Helen Pearson explores the story of the longest-running study of human development in the world, which began in Britain in 1946.

Easternisation by Gideon Rachman (The Bodley Head)

 Geopolitical analysis from Financial Times writer and Orwell Prize for Journalism winner Gideon Rachman, addressing the end of the West’s political dominance and the rise of Eastern powers.

All Out War by Tim Shipman (HarperCollins UK)

 Contemporary history of the EU referendum campaign from political reporter Tim Shipman, ‘based on unrivalled access to all the key politicians and their advisors’.

The Marches by Rory Stewart (Vintage, Jonathan Cape)

 Critically acclaimed memoir; Conservative MP Rory Stewart and his father, a ninety-year old former colonial official, walk ‘the Marches’, the frontier that divides England and Scotland.

Island Story by J. D. Taylor (Repeater)

 With a rusty bike and a tent, new name J. D. Taylor cycles round Britain in search of the answer to the question – ‘what is life like on this island?’

And the Sun Shines Now by Adrian Tempany (Faber & Faber)

 A book about ‘what arrived in the wake of unquestionably the most controversial tragedy in the post-war era of Britain’s history’ – The Hillsborough Disaster.

Enough Said by Mark Thompson (The Bodley Head)

 Former Director General of the BBC and current CEO of the New York Times ‘reveals how political, social and technological change has transformed our political landscape’.

Cut by Hibo Wardere, in collaboration with Anna Wharton (Simon & Schuster)

 Memoir from Hibo Wardere, campaigner against female genital mutilation, author and public speaker, shedding light on a practice still being carried out in Britain today.

Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge (Guardian Faber)

writer Gary Younge focuses on Saturday November 23rd 2013, when ten children and teens were killed by gunfire in the United States.

For more information and images, please contact Jeremy Wikeley at [email protected] or on 020 3108 1618

ENDS

1. The Orwell Prize is Britain’s most prestigious prize for political writing and a registered charity (number 1161563), providing free cultural events and resources for the public benefit. Every year, three prizes are awarded to the work which comes closest to George Orwell’s ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’: the Orwell Prize for Books, Journalism and Exposing Britain’s Social Evils. 2. The Prize was founded by the late Professor Sir in its present form in 1993, awarding its first prizes in 1994. The Prize is supported by Political Quarterly, (George Orwell’s son) and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

3. The Orwell Prize is based at UCL’s Institute of Advanced Studies. For more information about the Institute of Advanced Studies and its activities please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of-advanced-studies 4. The Orwell Prize for Books 2017 is for a political book or pamphlet, fiction or non-fiction, published in the calendar year 2016. ‘Political’ is defined in the broadest sense, including (but not limited to) entries addressing political, social, cultural, moral and historical subjects. The Orwell Prize does not accept poetry, or works in translation. For full details and rules of entry please see our website. 5. The Orwell Prize for Books received 230 entries for the Orwell Prize for Books 2017, a ten percent increase on 2016. 6. The winner receives £3000 and a trophy designed and made by students at Goldsmiths, University of London. 7. For further information, please contact Jeremy Wikeley at [email protected] or call us on 020 3108 1618