Shortlists 2009

• Press Release
• More information on the shortlists
• Watch the Debate

The Orwell Prize is delighted to announce that its shortlists for 2009 are as follows:

Book Prize

Brown, Andrew Fishing in Utopia (Granta)
Judt, Tony Reappraisals (William Heinemann)
Matthews, Owen Stalin’s Children (Bloomsbury)
Pai, Hsiao-Hung Chinese Whispers (Penguin)
Rashid, Ahmed Descent Into Chaos (Allen Lane)
Thompson, Mark The White War (Faber and Faber)

Journalism Prize

Bennett, Catherine The Observer
Cockburn, Patrick The Independent, London Review of Books
Hitchens, Peter The Mail on Sunday
Macintyre, Donald The Independent
Oborne, Peter Daily Mail, Channel 4 Dispatches, Prospect
Porter, Henry The Observer

Blog Prize

Alix Mortimer The People’s Republic of Mortimer
Andrew Sparrow Guardian Politics Blog
Chekov Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness
Iain Dale Iain Dale’s Diary
Jack Night Night Jack
Paul Mason BBC Newsnight - Idle Scrawl

The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on 22nd April 2009.

The shortlists were announced at a debate entitled 'Are political parties bankrupt? The economic emergency and the next election', held at Reuters on 25th March 2009. The panellists were Nick Cohen (shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2008 for What's Left?, author of new book Waiting for the Etonians), David Davis MP (Conservative, Haltemprice and Howden), Frank Field MP (Labour, Birkenhead) and Douglas Murray (author and commentator). Sean Maguire, Reuters' Editor of Political and General News, was chairing.

Coverage and reaction:

• Journalism.co.uk
• Press Gazette
• The Bookseller
• The Bookseller - preview blog
• Media Guardian
• The Guardian
• Daily Telegraph
• Evening Standard
• LabourList
• Alix Mortimer
• The Guardian Politics Blog
• Chekov
• Hopi Sen on the debate
• Iain Dale
• Jack Night

Video footage of the debate will appear here.