Looking at Women, Looking at War by Victoria Amelina won the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2025, awarded posthumously. Amelina was killed by a Russian missile strike in July 2023.
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing is one of Britain's most prestigious awards for nonfiction, honouring books that best fulfil George Orwell's ambition to 'make political writing into an art.' Founded in 1994 and administered by the Orwell Foundation, the prize has long been regarded as the gold standard for politically engaged nonfiction in the English-speaking world. The award recognises books—chiefly nonfiction—that combine rigorous reporting, incisive argument, and exceptional prose to illuminate questions of power, justice, society, and democracy. Prior to 2019 the prize covered both fiction and nonfiction under a single Books category; from 2019 onwards, the prize was split into separate Political Writing (nonfiction) and Political Fiction categories. Winners of the Political Writing prize include some of the most consequential works of contemporary journalism and narrative nonfiction: Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing (2019), a landmark account of the IRA and the Troubles; Sally Hayden's My Fourth Time, We Drowned (2022), an investigation into Europe's refugee detention system; and the posthumously celebrated Looking at Women, Looking at War by Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina (2025). The award is decided by a distinguished panel of judges drawn from journalism, academia, and public life. A shortlist of six to ten books is announced in spring, with the winner revealed at a ceremony in summer. The Orwell Prize carries no large monetary award but bestows enormous reputational prestige and is widely considered the most important recognition available to politically engaged nonfiction writers in the UK.
Frequently Asked Questions
The prize is named after George Orwell, the British author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, whose essay 'Why I Write' expressed his ambition to make political writing into an art form.
The prize split into separate Political Writing (nonfiction) and Political Fiction categories in 2019. Before that, a single Books prize covered both fiction and nonfiction.
The prize is administered by the Orwell Foundation, a UK charity that promotes Orwell's values of clear, honest, and politically engaged writing.
A panel of judges—typically drawn from journalism, academia, and public life—reads eligible books and produces a longlist, then a shortlist, before selecting the winner. Publishers submit their titles for consideration.
No. The prize is open to books published in the United Kingdom and is not restricted by the nationality of the author, though the work must be published in English or in English translation.
A modest monetary award is attached to the prize, though the prestige and recognition are considered its primary value. Prize amounts have varied over the years.
Political writing in the Orwell Prize sense includes journalism, reportage, history, social commentary, and essay writing that engages directly with questions of power, government, social justice, or democratic life—presented with literary craft and argumentative clarity.
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