Orwell Prize 2022: Political Writing

Sally Hayden’s My Fourth Time, We Drowned is a searing work of investigative journalism that documents the plight of refugees and migrants trapped in the Libyan detention system. Based on first-hand testimonies and relentless reporting, Hayden reveals the scale of suffering and the complicity of international powers. The book is both a cry of outrage and a testament to human resilience. Hayden refuses to look away, and she compels the reader not to either. It’s journalism at its most courageous, giving voice to those too often silenced by politics and indifference.

Michela Wrong’s Do Not Disturb is a gripping account of political intrigue, betrayal, and authoritarianism in Rwanda. Focusing on the assassination of Patrick Karegeya, a former intelligence chief turned dissident, Wrong unravels the complex history that positioned Rwanda as both a post-genocide success story and a tightly controlled state. Her reporting is fearless and meticulous, revealing a world of secrecy, propaganda, and brutal reprisals. Wrong challenges the dominant international narrative around Rwanda’s leadership, offering a far more troubling picture. The book reads like a political thriller while maintaining journalistic integrity — tense, revealing, and deeply courageous.

Kei Miller’s essay collection is a probing, lyrical exploration of silence, power, race, and the politics of being seen. Through personal reflection, cultural critique, and literary inquiry, Miller investigates what remains unsaid—especially for Black, queer, and migrant identities navigating systems of control. His prose is poetic yet incisive, shifting fluidly between memoir and meditation. The essays ask pressing questions about vulnerability, self-protection, and the narratives society permits. It is a profound, emotionally resonant work that challenges readers to reconsider the spaces where silence becomes both shield and imprisonment.

Polly Curtis’s Behind Closed Doors is a deeply researched and emotionally resonant examination of Britain’s children’s care system. Through powerful case studies and interviews, Curtis uncovers how thousands of vulnerable children are failed by the institutions meant to protect them. Her writing is compassionate yet unflinching, exposing a fragmented system where overstretched workers struggle against impossible odds. Curtis balances individual stories with structural analysis, demonstrating how poverty, austerity, and political neglect interact to produce tragic outcomes. The book challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about responsibility and care in modern Britain. It is essential, urgent, and profoundly human.

Amia Srinivasan’s The Right to Sex is a provocative and intellectually rigorous essay collection exploring consent, desire, power, and contemporary feminist politics. Srinivasan challenges easy narratives and refuses ideological simplicity, instead examining how sex intersects with class, race, disability, and technology. Her arguments are carefully constructed yet bold, inviting readers to question both mainstream and radical assumptions. The book is demanding in the best sense, pushing the public conversation into more honest and complex territory. It is a landmark work of feminist thought — sharp, nuanced, and deeply relevant.

Kojo Koram’s Uncommon Wealth traces the legacy of the British Empire into the present, revealing how colonial structures continue to shape modern capitalism, inequality, and political policy. Koram writes with clarity and persuasive force, connecting historical events to contemporary issues such as offshore finance, privatisation, and immigration. His argument is bold: the empire did not end — it evolved into new forms that benefit elites while deepening social divides. The book is meticulously researched yet highly accessible, offering a fresh narrative about Britain’s present-day challenges. Koram’s analysis is incisive, unsettling, and essential for understanding post-imperial Britain.

In Spike, Jeremy Farrar — a leading infectious disease expert — and journalist Anjana Ahuja deliver an insider’s account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book blends scientific clarity with gripping narrative, showing how governments, researchers, and public health systems responded to the crisis. Farrar’s first-hand insights into vaccine development, global cooperation, and political failures give the book rare authority. The authors do not shy away from critiquing mismanagement and misinformation, highlighting how political choices shaped the pandemic’s toll. Clear, urgent, and illuminating, Spike is an essential chronicle of a world in crisis and the lessons still unlearned.

Graeber and Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything is a sweeping re-examination of human history that challenges long-held assumptions about inequality, civilisation, and progress. Combining anthropology, archaeology, and political theory, the authors argue that human societies have always experimented with different ways of organising themselves — and that hierarchy is neither natural nor inevitable. The book is ambitious in scope yet surprisingly readable, filled with vivid examples that overturn conventional narratives. Graeber and Wengrow invite readers to question not only the origins of inequality but also the limits of our political imagination. It is provocative, paradigm-shifting, and exhilarating in its intellectual confidence.

Rebecca Solnit’s Orwell’s Roses is a beautifully constructed blend of biography, political history, and botanical meditation. Using George Orwell’s gardening as a point of departure, Solnit explores the relationship between beauty and political resistance. Her writing is graceful and intellectually agile, moving between literary analysis, ecological history, and reflections on authoritarianism. Solnit argues that pleasure, creativity, and joy are not distractions from political life but essential to it. The book is full of surprising connections and rich insights, offering a fresh perspective on Orwell while expanding his legacy in unexpected directions.

Adam Tooze’s Shutdown is a sweeping analysis of the global political and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tooze synthesises enormous amounts of information with remarkable clarity, examining how governments, markets, and institutions responded under pressure. He frames the pandemic as a turning point, revealing how fragile and interconnected modern systems have become. Tooze’s perspective is global, drawing connections across continents and sectors to show the cascading effects of crisis. His writing is authoritative but accessible, offering readers both analysis and narrative momentum. It is indispensable for understanding the early 2020s.