Karen Bartlett wins the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Karen Bartlett's The Escape from Kabul won the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, and Ben Lerner's Transcription the prize for political fiction.
Karen Bartlett has won the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Writing for The Escape from Kabul, published by Duckworth Books. The winners were announced on 25 June 2026 at the Bloomsbury Theatre, University College London. Each book prize is worth £5,000.
The book follows Afghanistan's women judges as they faced the return of Islamic fundamentalism. The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction went to Ben Lerner for Transcription, published by Granta, a short novel concerned with our appetite for new technology.
The journalism prize went to BBC Panorama for its investigations into unlawful killings by special forces in Afghanistan. A special prize was awarded to the Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov.
Both book winners came from independent publishers rather than the largest groups. For non-fiction writers, the result is also a reminder that careful, patient reporting on people who have left the news cycle can still find a prize jury, and through it a wider readership.
Sources: The Orwell Foundation: Orwell Prize 2026 winners announced; The Bookseller: Orwell Prizes 2026 awarded to Karen Bartlett and Ben Lerner.