Orwell Prize 2013 Shortlist and Winner
Scroll down for the winner and shortlist of the Orwell Prize 2013. Click on the covers to see what the critics made of the contenders. Here’s a link to the longlist.
Shortlist
WINNER: A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa by A. T. Williams
On 15 September 2003 Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist, was killed by British Army troops in Iraq. He had been arrested the previous day in Basra and was taken to a military military base for questioning. (Jonathan Cape)
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Burying the Typewriter by Carmen Bugan
One quiet day when her mother was away from home, Carmen Bugan’s father put on his best suit and drove into Bucharest to stage a one-man protest against Ceauşescu. He had been typing pamphlets on an illegal typewriter and burying it in the garden each morning under his daughter’s bedroom window. (Picador)
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From the Ruins of the Empire by Pankaj Mishra
Viewed in the West as a time of self-confident progress, the Victorian period was experienced by Asians as a catastrophe. As the British gunned down the last heirs to the Mughal Empire or burned down the Summer Palace in Beijing, it was clear that for Asia to recover, a new way of thinking was needed. (Allen Lane)
Injustice by Clive Stafford Smith
In 1986, Kris Maharaj, a British businessman living in Miami, was arrested for the brutal murder of two ex-business associates. His lawyer did not present a strong alibi; Kris was found guilty. (Harvill Secker)
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Leaving Alexandria by Richard Holloway
At fourteen, Richard Holloway left his home in the Vale of Leven, north of Glasgow, and travelled hundreds of miles to be educated and trained for the priesthood by a religious order. (Canongate)
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Occupation Diaries by Raja Shehadeh
It is often the smallest details of daily life that tell us the most. And so it is under occupation in Palestine. What most of us take for granted has to be carefully thought about and planned for: When will the post be allowed to get through? Will there be enough water for the bath tonight? How shall I get rid of the rubbish collecting outside? (Profile Books)
