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Orwell prize spoilt for choice

27.03.08 Anna Richardson

Seven authors are in contention for the Orwell Prize for books, after the judges were forced to extend the shortlist.

Nick Cohen's What's Left?, Jay Griffiths' Wild, William Hague's William Wilberforce, Ed Husain's The Islamist, Marina Lewycka's Two Caravans, Raja Shehadeh's Palestinian Walks and Clive Stafford Smith's Bad Men all made it onto the list, when the judges decided to opt for seven books instead of the usual six, because the "range and intensity of the writing made it so difficult to choose".

At a debate yesterday evening (26th March), the judges also revealed the shortlist for the award's journalism category, with journalists coming from the Independent, the Observer, the Daily Telegraph, the Economist and the BBC, including cultural commentator Clive James.

Chair of judges, Jean Seaton, said: "Watching the judges select a shortlist from the longlist was painful: anybody who thinks that political thought is weary should pick up one of the books from the longlist or browse some of the journalism."

The winners will be announced at the Foreign Press Association on 24th April.

 

SHORTLISTS IN FULL:

Books

What’s Left? by Nick Cohen (Fourth Estate)

Wild by Jay Griffiths (Hamish Hamilton)

William Wilberforce by William Hague (HarperPress)

The Islamist by Ed Husain (Penguin)

Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka (Fig Tree)

Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehadeh (Profile)

Bad Men by Clive Stafford Smith (Weidenfeld)

 

Journalism

Johann Hari (Independent)

Clive James (BBC Radio 4)

Anton La Guardia (The Economist)

Andrew Rawnsley (Observer)

Mary Riddell (Daily Telegraph)

Paul Vallely (Independent)

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