Toby Harnden on winning The Orwell Prize Engraved on the Orwell Prize trophy, hand crafted in oak, are the words of George Orwell himself: ‘What I have most wanted to do is to make political writing into an art.’ When I was told I had been long-listed for The Orwell Prize, I wondered whether Dead Men Risen qualified. After all, the prize is for ‘political writing’ and Dead Men Risen is a book about the reality of war rather than a polemic. It contains no policy prescriptions. In its essence it is an account of what happened to a group of soldiers over a six-month period in Helmand in 2009. Referring to Matterhorn, his masterpiece about Vietnam based on his harrowing experiences there, Karl Marlantes ... Continue reading →
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The winners of The 2012 Orwell Prize has been announced, marking the culmination of a search for the best political writing of the past 12 months. Toby Harnden won the Book Prize for Dead Men Risen, his story of male comradeship and the military tradition in action with the Welsh Guards in Afghanistan. Amelia Gentleman of The Guardian won the Journalism Prize for her work including articles on benefit fraudsters, benefit dependents and the carers of our elderly. Rangers Tax-Case wons the Blog Prize after investigated the financial scandal surrounding Rangers Football Club. Finally, Christopher Hitchens, who made the longlist for his book Arguably, was memorialised with a special award by the judging panel. But what about the man at the centre of it all, ... Continue reading →
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