Orwell Society Dystopian Fiction Prize 2023
The Orwell Society is organising its ninth annual short story competition for current students (both BA and MA) at British universities. Dystopian narratives of 3,000 words should be sent to Ann Kronbergs, Education Trustee of The Orwell Society, via education@orwellsociety.com, by midnight (12:00 hrs) on 13th February 2023. Entry is free. This year’s competition has now closed and we thank all the entrants for their contributions.
The judging panel comprises Richard Blair, the son of George Orwell and Patron of The Orwell Society, Luke Seaber of University College, London, award-winning dystopian fiction author Nicola Rossi and Ann Kronbergs, OS Education Trustee. All submissions are assessed anonymously. The winning prize of £750 will be announced on 31st January 2023 and comes with a trophy which is a bust of Orwell (to be returned at the end of the award year). Arrangements for the presentation of the Prize will be confirmed when the winner is announced.
The judges will be looking for the narrative which best follows in the tradition set by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four and which Orwell is most likely to have admired. The winning entry will be published in the Society’s Journal.
Winners to date have come from undergraduate and post-graduate courses in Creative Writing at the following universities: University of Edinburgh, The University of East Anglia, Birmingham City University and the MA in Creative Writing and Publishing at City University London.
Holly Domney, on City University London’s MA in Creative Writing and Publishing, won in 2016. She commented: ‘Winning the prize is a stellar thing to have on your CV and such a fantastic talking point in an interview.’ And she gave this advice to entrants: ‘I took a simple idea and wasn’t afraid to take it to the extreme and make it dark. Always have an agenda when you write, mine was to promote equality between the sexes, what’s yours?’
Eleni Socratous, on the University of Warwick’s BA in English Literature and Creative Writing won in 2021. She gave this advice to entrants:
‘My advice is not to be scared to put yourself out there. It can be daunting as it makes you feel vulnerable to let others see your work, but if you want to progress as a writer then you have to take that first step. I highly recommend taking part in such competitions, because it forces you to get out of your comfort zone, while also exposing you to the literary world beyond university. It is not about winning; it is about pressing that “send” button and knowing someone is going to read your work and judge it. It is about having the courage to do that.’
Further details of Eleni Socratous’s 2021 winning entry may be read here:
https://orwellsociety.com/dystopian/eleni-socratous-wins-the-orwell-society-2021-dystopian-fiction-prize/
Submission Rules:
All submissions should be presented as follows, using TWO Word documents, tagged with your personal initials 1 and your personal initials 2 (eg. EAB.1 and EAB.2.). The first Word document should contain: cover page providing title of story, name of author, name of university, name of programme studying on, and full contact details (address, telephone etc). The second Word document should be ANONYMISED and the story presented in 12 pt Times Roman double spaced – with each page numbered and the document ending with a word count.