Eleni Socratous wins The Orwell Society 2021 Dystopian Fiction Prize

Eleni Socratous, a student on the University of Warwick’s BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, is the winner of The Orwell Society’s seventh annual Dystopian Fiction Prize. The prize of £500 comes with a trophy which is a bust of Orwell.

Eleni Socratous, Winner of OS Dystopian Fiction Prize 2021, with Orwell bust and OS Journal Spring 2022 containing her winning story

As in previous years, the judges were looking for the narrative which best followed in the tradition set by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four and which Orwell is most likely to have admired. Eleni’s winning entry will be published in the autumn issue of The Society’s Journal.

According to the judges her story, Needle and Thread, centred on a disturbing concept concerning female suppression well-suited to the short story form. In particular  the point of view of the central female character was powerfully realised within the framework of a pacey plot.

The judges in the competition – open to all BA and MA students in Britain – were Richard Blair, son of George Orwell and Patron of The Orwell Society, Dr Luke Seaber of University College London and Ann Kronbergs, Education Trustee for The Orwell Society. There was a strong field of entries to the competition, each one was anonymised for assessment.

Ann Kronbergs

Education Trustee

The Orwell Society