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The Orwell Youth Prize uses the writing of George Orwell to inspire young people aged 11-18 to write bravely and creatively about their own ideas and experiences. This year’s winning entries, selected by judges Nandana Sen, James Bloodworth, and Sophia Smith Galer from an original list of more than 1,300 entries, were announced at University College London by George Orwell’s son, Richard Blair. Their writing, published digitally in full with The Observer for the first time, ranges from intimate personal reflection to engagements with issues of censorship, propaganda and resistance.

George Orwell wrote regularly for The Observer and its former editor David Astor was among his closest friends and most important supporters. But this is also a forward-looking partnership, rooted in a shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of talented journalists. Entries for the new prize cycle will open, with a new theme, in autumn 2026, and everyone who enters before February 2027 will receive free personalised feedback on their writing.

Photograph by Matt Cardy/Getty Images