Winners of 2024 Orwell Society & NUJ Awards For Young Journalists

The winners of the annual joint National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Orwell Society Young Journalist Awards in two categories, political opinion writing and arts review, were revealed at the Orwell Society’s AGM in London Saturday, May 11.

Entries were judged by a panel made up of noted Orwell experts including George Orwell’s son Richard Blair, who is also Patron of the Orwell Society, and Hardeep Matharu, editor of Byline Times.

The panel agreed to award the prize for best arts review to Dan Paling, a BA English Literature graduate and future Oxford Master’s student, for his essay entitled ‘Natural Beauty in The Zone of Interest’, a treatise on a film adapted from Martin Amis’ novel The Zone of Interest.

In second place was ‘Milla Sofia, The Artificial Influencer’ by Georgina Parbrook.

In the political column category, the winner was a piece by current Pembroke College, Cambridge undergraduate Matthew Taylor for ‘A Life No Longer Simple, Memories No Longer Mine’.

In second place was ‘Building Equality: Why There’s More to School Maintenance Than Safety’ by Lucy Gilder.

2024 Winners (From left, with Richard Blair centre), Hassan Akram, Georgina Parbrook, Dan Paling, Matthew Taylor, Lucy Gilder and Loïs Bolton.