Rules and Regulations

THE PRIZES

1. The Orwell Prize is awarded annually in spring/early summer. It recognises work published in the calendar year preceding the year in which the Award is made. For example, the Prize awarded in May 2010 (the 2010 Prize) recognises work published between 1st January and 31st December 2009.

2. It is named in memory of George Orwell, the British journalist, novelist and essayist.

3. The Orwell Prize aims to encourage good writing and thinking about politics. The winning entries should strive to meet Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’. They should be of equal excellence in style and content – the writing must be both political and artful.

4. ‘Political’ is defined in the broadest sense, including (but not limited to) entries addressing political, social, cultural, moral and historical subjects.

5. There are three prizes:
• The Book Prize, awarded to a book or pamphlet, whether fiction or non-fiction.
• The Journalism Prize, awarded to a journalist for sustained reportage and/or commentary working in any medium.
• The Blog Prize, awarded to a blogger.

In addition, Special Prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the judges.

6. Following the closing of submissions, a list of all entries will appear on the Orwell Prize website (www.theorwellprize.co.uk).

7. A longlist in each Prize will be published. Typically, this will consist of eighteen books in the Book Prize, twelve journalists in the Journalism Prize and twelve bloggers in the Blog Prize. The judges may opt to longlist fewer or more entries at their discretion.

8. A shortlist in each Prize will then be published, from the entries on the appropriate longlist. Typically, this will consist of six entries in each Prize. The judges may opt to shortlist fewer or more entries at their discretion.

9. There are no longlists or shortlists for Special Prizes, unless the judges announce the subject of and invite submissions for a named Special Prize at the Prize launch.

10. The winners of each Prize will be announced at the annual Awards Ceremony.

11. The Orwell Prize is worth £3000 to the winner in each category.

SUBMISSIONS

12. All entries must be accompanied by a completed entry form.

13. Submissions – constituting entry and completed entry form – must be received by the deadline, or bear a postmark from before the deadline.

14. There is no restriction on the age or nationality of the author, but the author must have a clear relationship with the United Kingdom or Ireland. They must normally be resident in the United Kingdom or Ireland, although the following conditions will also suffice:
• Foreign correspondents for British and Irish publications who are based abroad.
• British and Irish citizens, or those born in the United Kingdom or Ireland, who live abroad but are published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
• Foreign citizens who are resident or have a residence in the United Kingdom or Ireland at the time of writing and/or publication of their entry.
• Those who have been granted diplomatic or consular status by the United Kingdom or Ireland, despite not being British or Irish.
• Books published first, or published only, in the United Kingdom or Ireland.

15. The final decision on the eligibility of a submission rests with the Administrator of the Prize, subject to the oversight of the Council of the Orwell Prize.

16. Members of the Council of the Orwell Prize, Orwell Trust, Political Quarterly board and Media Standards Trust board may not enter the Prize. Judges may not enter the Prize in any year in which they judge.

17. All the items must have been published for the first time in the calendar year preceding the award. A book which was published in paperback for the first time in 2009, for example, would not be eligible for the 2010 Prize if a hardback version had been published the year before.

18. Revised editions and reprints will not be considered, unless the Administrator rules (subject to the oversight of the Council of the Orwell Prize) that the revisions are so major as to effectively render the entry a new publication.

19. Items must be published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.

20. A single author, or very small team of authors, must be clearly identifiable. Anthologies consisting of work by more than one author will not be accepted.

21. A winner of the Orwell Prize cannot reapply for three years for the Prize which they have won. This exemption does not apply to the Special Prize.

22. Four copies of each work, along with a completed entry form, should be submitted. Further copies may be requested in the event of an entry being longlisted or shortlisted.

23. The Prize expects as much assistance as possible from publishers of longlisted, shortlisted and winning books in publicising the achievement. This includes publicising the honour on their website and in press releases and highlighting the achievement in future editions. Winning publishers are expected to print ‘Winner of the Orwell Prize’ on the cover of future editions, to provide complimentary copies of the book for publicity and to consent to meet representatives of the Prize upon their victory to discuss further publicity.

24. A signature will be required on all entries – either from the author, publisher or editor – stating that the entrant’s work is all their own and has not been plagiarised, or is otherwise primarily the work of somebody else.

25. The judges’ decisions are final.

SUBMISSIONS – JOURNALISM PRIZE

26. A submission for the Journalism Prize will consist of between four and six items by a named journalist or small team of journalists. This might consist of, for example, six printed articles, six television or radio broadcasts, six blog entries, or a combination of different media making six items (e.g. three radio broadcasts, one television package, and two blog entries).

27. There must be a written element to all submissions. In the case of television or radio entries, this should be a script or a transcript as appropriate.

28. As for the Book Prize, four copies of each item should be submitted.

SUBMISSIONS – BLOG PRIZE

29. A submission for the Blog Prize will consist of ten blogposts by a single blogger. These blogposts may be taken from a range of blogs.

30. Submissions for the Blog Prize will be made electronically. The ‘signature’ referred to in clause 24 will be taken to mean verification of entry from an active email address.

SUBMISSIONS – SPECIAL PRIZE

31. There are no submissions for the Special Prize, unless the judges decide to announce at the Prize launch that they are inviting submissions for a Special Prize around a named subject or medium.

32. The award of a Special Prize is entirely at the discretion of the judges – they do not have to award a Special Prize if they do not wish to do so.

THE JUDGES

33. There will a separate jury for each of the Prizes. The Executive Director of the Prize and the Administrator of the Prize will convene both juries.

34. In the event of a Special Prize being specified at the Prize launch, all juries will deliberate upon the Special Prize entries together or as directed by the Executive Director of the Prize.

35. The judges are proposed by the Council of the Orwell Prize and invited by the Executive Director of the Prize.

36. The judges are expected to attend a longlisting meeting, a shortlisting meeting and a meeting to decide the winners.

37. The judges will be warmly invited to all Orwell Prize events, including the launch debate, the listing debates and the awards ceremony. They will be expected to attend the awards ceremony.

38. The judges should not divulge the contents of either the longlist or the shortlist, or details of the winners, before the relevant official announcement. They should not comment on the judges’ deliberations in public.

39. The judges should declare any interests to the Administrator.

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

40. The Executive Director of the Prize will have responsibility for:
• Acting as the ‘public face’ and champion of the Prize – i.e. as spokesperson for the Prize on radio, television and to the press. Chairing Prize events
• Inviting the judges – and convening the longlisting and shortlisting meetings
• Planning – working directly with the Administrator to map out the annual activities of the Prize
• Promoting and protecting the values of the Prize on a day-to-day basis.

THE ADMINISTRATOR

41. The Administrator will assist the Executive Director of the Prize and the judges in any and every way possible, in addition to all other duties relating to the running of the Orwell Prize.

42. The Administrator will not interfere with or influence the judges in their decisions.