THE MOST IMPORTANT, IMAGINATIVE AND HONEST WRITING AND REPORTING

The Orwell Festival is an annual series of events in Bloomsbury, London, taking in the most important and exciting writing and thinking today and culminating in the announcement of the winners of The Orwell Prizes.

In the spirit of George Orwell’s fiction, non-fiction and journalism, the Orwell Foundation aims to celebrate honest and creative writing and reporting, uncover hidden lives, and confront uncomfortable truths. We take seriously Orwell’s injunction that if ‘Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’

The Orwell Festival aims to be a space for difficult debate and diversity of opinion and viewpoints, encourage creativity and clarity of expression, provide a platform for unheard voices and defend the right to individual conscience, whilst remaining politically impartial.

There will be debates, panels and lectures with writers from different disciplines coming together to discuss a wide range of important themes and issues, inspired by Orwell’s own expansive interests. Concessionary tickets for students and those on low income are available for all events; as far as possible, events will also be streamed online and recorded.

The Orwell Foundation is a registered charity, dedicated to keeping Orwell’s legacy alive. Friends of the Orwell Foundation receive two complimentary tickets to the Festival - visit our website to find out more about our work.