George Orwell
Every tabloid’s worst nightmare
What would George Orwell write about today? asked the Guardian. Here’s our nomination: an EU report that recommends giving the EU more powers to sack hacks, regulate the press and… Continue reading
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Down the memory hole for Orwell Week
Amid much Twitter self-congratulation, the New Statesman has declared this ‘Orwell week‘. Oddly, however, it has yet to mention some of the most notable aspects of its relationship with the… Continue reading
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Some literary thirteens for 2013
I suspect I might not be the only one who finds it unnerving to be at the start of a year that features, so prominently, the number thirteen. 2013 –… Continue reading
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To take or not to take a pseudonym
Literary pseudonyms have been on my mind lately, for a couple of reasons. The first is Salman Rushdie’s revelation that he chose ‘Joseph Anton’ as his cover name when in… Continue reading
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China bans Haruki Murakami’s ’1Q84′: George Orwell would have seen the irony
Books – or lack thereof – are the latest manifestation of anti-Japanese sentiment in China. The escalating dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has provoked some Beijing bookshops to remove Japanese… Continue reading
4 CommentsBlogging Barbarossa
Perhaps the most horrific battle of them all began 70 years ago today. Here’s Orwell: The Germans invaded the U.S.S.R. this morning. Everyone greatly excited. It is universally assumed that… Continue reading
5 CommentsNick Cohen, George Orwell and Me
I can’t stay silent on the issue of Nick Cohen’s intervention at the Orwell Prize shotlisting event earlier this week. But I can’t really say too much either as Nick,… Continue reading
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