Winners have been chosen for the 2026 Orwell Prizes in nonfiction and fiction, honoring books that meet George Orwell's ambition "to make political writing into an art."
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing: Escape from Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind by Karen Bartlett (published in the U.S. by the New Press).
Chair of judges Rohan Silva said: "For this year's prize, we especially looked for books that honour Orwell's commitment to lucid language and intellectual honesty. By both of these standards, Escape from Kabul smashes it out of the park. It's taut and crisp, and shines a light on a story that deserves attention. The plight of Afghanistan's immensely brave female judges in the face of Islamic fundamentalism is a gripping tale--and Karen Bartlett tells it with deep reserves of empathy and compassion. The book is truly Orwellian in the most positive sense, and a richly merited winner."
The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction: Transcription: A Novel by Ben Lerner (published in the U.S. by Farrar, Straus & Giroux).
Chair of judges Fiammetta Rocco said: "Our shortlist is full of books which explore the world we know and look towards the world we want to see--our winning book needed to encompass both. For a book so slim, Transcription by Ben Lerner does so much. A forensic study of our insatiable appetite for new technology, it explores the unreliable stories we tell ourselves about hunger, love and connection. It is about dying with dignity and growing up in a new world. It's funny, brainy and timely. Lerner deserves to be a household name."