Orwell Prize 2021: Shortlisted books on Political Fiction announced

Orwell Prize is one of the prestigious prizes for political writing which started in 1994. It is given to works that strive to achieve George Orwell’s aim ‘to make political writing into an art’. The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction was first awarded in 2019. A longlist of 12 books was made from the 100 entries that was received for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2021. A shortlist of 6 books has been created out of the 12 in the longlist. The six books were selected by judges: Delia Jarrett-Macauley (Chair), Mark Ford, Andrea Stuart and Bea Carvalho. The six books selected by the jury include: Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Apeirogon by Colum McCann, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, Summer by Ali Smith, The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi, and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

“With this shortlist we are excited to present a richly international array of novels, creatively inventive and intellectually astute fictional explorations, all of which grapple with big political issues—war, migration, poverty, refugees—and personal challenges, such as the death of a child or the loss of a sibling,” Delia Jarrett-Macauley, chair of the judges for the Political Fiction Prize, said.

The winners of Orwell Prize 2021 for Political Fiction will be announced on author George Orwell’s birthday on June 25.