Can we all belong? Next week at The Orwell Festival
Join us live in London and online
Few writers have done more to shape the way the British, and the English in particular, think of themselves than George Orwell, perhaps most famously in his wartime pamphlet The Lion and the Unicorn:
“Are there really such things as nations? Are we not forty-six million individuals, all different? And the diversity of it, the chaos! The clatter of clogs in the Lancashire mill towns, the to-and-fro of the lorries on the Great North Road, the queues outside the Labour Exchanges, the rattle of pin-tables in the Soho pubs, the old maids hiking to Holy Communion through the mists of the autumn morning… How can one make a pattern out of this muddle?”
With immigration yet again a defining issue in British politics, is it still possible to tell a national story that speaks across political and ideological divides? In this year’s
Conversation Sunder Katwala, Nicola Kelly & Tariq Modood will be exploring belonging and national identity in the UK. Can we build a shared story, or are we destined to fracture further?🎟️ UCL, 6.30pm, Tuesday 3 June: Register for your free ticket
Also coming up at The Orwell Festival
In addition to our live events, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Arvon - and Orwell Prize-winning author Peter Apps (Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen) - for a special online masterclass.
Whether you’re writing political polemic or a more intimate personal account, this evening session will introduce you to the tools you need to tell people’s stories in a truthful, emotive and engaging way. Book your spot here.
A number of free places are available to Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness entrants, sponsored by the Centre for Homelessness Impact.
4 June: Towards a renewed European unity?
In a little-known 1947 essay Toward European Unity, Orwell made the case for a “United States of Europe” as the best hope for civilisation in a nuclear age. In a world increasingly defined by power politics, it time to revisit that vision? Orwell Prize judges Katja Hoyer and Colin Crouch, and 2024 winner Matthew Longo (The Picnic) discuss Europe’s past, present, and future at Pushkin House.
📍 Pushkin House, in person or livestream (£15 / £6): Book now
12 June: The Politics of Football
Can we love football and keep our principles? Join Philippe Auclair, writer, broadcaster and contributor to the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, Miguel Delaney, chief football writer at the Independent and Orwell Prize judge Matthew Beaumont at The Volley (“the best place to watch football in London”).
📍 The Volley (£12 / £8): Book now
17 June: Natasha Brown & Gabriel Gatehouse
Just announced! Natasha Brown (Universality, Political Fiction) and Gabriel Gatehouse (The Coming Storm, Political Writing) will be at Waterstones Gower Street to celebrate their shortlisted books, and discuss how to “make political writing into an art” - George Orwell’s own ambition, and the guiding principle of the Orwell Prize.
📍 Waterstones Gower Street (£10 / £7): book your tickets
+ much more, including Mishal Husain (Broken Threads) & Simon Parkin (The Lost Garden of Leningrad) in conversation with Orwell Prize judge Thangam Debbonaire (19 June)
Stay tuned to your telescreens
It all culminates on 25 June (Orwell’s birthday), with the announcement of this year’s winners. In the meantime, we will be sharing insights from this year’s finalists and judges right here on Substack, as well as highlights from our events. Visit us on Instagram to find out more about our bookshop partners.
New on the Political Quarterly blog: restating the case for political and critical education
How do young people arrive at a view of the world and assess the competing views they are bombarded with? How resilient are they in the face of unregulated and overwhelming media online? At The Orwell Foundation, we are well-placed to wade into this discussion, having been listening closely to young people for over a decade.
Sam Taylor Hill and Jean Seaton make the case for political and critical education in the UK on the
blog.Become a Patron or Friend and join a growing community of supporters dedicated to promoting George Orwell’s legacy around the world.
All animals are equal…
…but some animals are more equal than others. Marking its 80th anniversary year, Animal Farm returns to Folio – Orwell’s modern satire on power, corruption and control is as urgent now as when it was first published.
This Folio features a new slipcase and frontispiece by Quentin Blake, whose satirical illustrations bring fresh bite to the story’s dark wit and political punch.
