What does Orwell mean for China? Inside this year's Orwell Festival
Join us live in London, 27 May-25 June
Contrary to what many in the West might assume, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is widely available in the People’s Republic of China. So is Animal Farm, Orwell’s other classic, which marks its 80th anniversary this year. So, what does Orwell’s legacy mean for the world’s rising superpower? How is Orwell read in China today? And what do we learn when we see Orwell in a Chinese context?
We’ll be exploring all this, and more, at The Orwell Festival next week with historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom and Isabel Hilton, founder of the China Dialogue Trust, chaired by Orwell Prize for Political Writing judge Cindy Yu. Book your tickets here. Use the discount code CLOVER on any ticket for 10% off.
Also coming up at The Orwell Festival
The shortlists for the 2025 Orwell Prizes have now been announced, celebrating the most compelling political writing and reporting across fiction, non-fiction, journalism and reporting on homelessness.
All our shortlists aspire to Orwell’s own values: clarity, courage, and fidelity to truth. This year’s Orwell Festival brings those ideas to life, live across Bloomsbury, with new guests announced including Orwell Prize finalists Anne Applebaum (sold out!), Mishal Husain, and Simon Parkin - and more to come.
3 June: Can We All Belong? The PQ Conversation
In this year’s
Conversation Sunder Katwala, Nicola Kelly & Tariq Modood will be exploring immigration, belonging, and national identity in the UK. Can we build a shared story, or are we destined to fracture further?🎟️ Register for your free ticket here
4 June: Towards a renewed European unity?
In a 1947 essay “Toward European Unity”, Orwell made the case for a “United States of Europe” as the best hope for civilisation in a nuclear world. In a world increasingly defined by power politics, it time to revisit that vision?
Join Orwell Prize judges Katja Hoyer and Colin Crouch, and Orwell Prize winner Matthew Longo (2024, The Picnic), as we discuss Europe’s past, present, and future.
📍 Pushkin House, Bloomsbury Square: book your tickets here
And so much more, from the politics of football to and the “genius myth”
Just announced: 19 June – Orwell Prize Finalists Mishal Husain (Broken Threads) & Simon Parkin (The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad) in conversation with Orwell Prize judge Thangam Debbonaire at Foyles Charing Cross | Book now
It all culminates on 25 June (Orwell’s birthday), with the announcement of this year’s winners. Are we all living in Orwell’s world? We hope you can join us.
In the meantime, we will be sharing insights from this year’s Orwell Prize finalists and judges right here on Substack, as well as more highlights from our upcoming events. Whatever you do, stay tuned to your telescreens.
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