You are invited to join us on 26 June 2026 at the Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester for a special free public event, exploring the relationship between Umberto Eco (author of The Name of the Rose) and British culture. More details and to book for free: www.anthonyburgess.org/event/umbert...

🚨 Breaking news. The WINNER of the 2026 Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism is Ciarán O’Rourke for his review of The Occult Elvis. Ciarán wins £3000 and publication in the Observer newspaper. The 2026 runners-up are No’a L. bat Miri and Julia Clayton. Congratulations!

The Burgess Foundation invites you to the premiere of a song cycle inspired by the poetry of Anthony Burgess. Explore life’s unavoidable happenings with three visiting Canadian musicians. Tickets for the 21st June afternoon concert are £10, available here: www.anthonyburgess.org/event/concer...

And our seventh shortlistee is... Julia Clayton for their review of the 150th Anniversary Exhibition at The Atkinson Well done, Julia. A massive thank-you to everyone for entering. A winner and two runners-up will be announced on 13 May 2026. 🏆 Top prize is £3000 and publication in The Observer.

The sixth of seven shortlistees for the 2026 Observer Burgess prize is... Anais Lukaku for their review of the Lee Miller exhibition at Tate Britain One of numerous Miller reviews we received in this year's competition, so extra well done to Anais.

Here is another writer who finds themselves on the shortlist for the 2026 Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. A huge well done to... Stephen Smith for their review of the biography The Wonderful World that Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek by Andrew Durbin

The next reveal for the 2026 Observer Burgess prize shortlist is (please provide your own drum roll)... Amelia Moran for their review of the Marie Antoinette Style exhibition at V&A South Kensington Congrats, Amelia. Four shortlistees announced, three more to go.

Time for the third shortlistee for the 2026 Observer Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. Thanks to everyone for entering. We hope you are on tenterhooks. Next up is... No’a L. bat Miri for their review of Siri Broch Johansen’s opera Ovllá at Oulu2026. Well done!

We are revealing the shortlistees for the 2026 Observer Burgess prize. No particular order. Just closing our eyes and delving into our shortlist hat to reveal... Ana Fati for their review of Shih-Ching Tsou’s film Left-Handed Girl. Congratulations, Ana!

Let's announce the shortlistees for the 2026 Observer Burgess prize. Over the next hour, we will reveal SEVEN names, in random order. Our first shortlistee is... Ciarán O’Rourke for their review of Miguel Conner’s biography The Occult Elvis: The Mystical and Magical Life of the King

In this week’s newsletter, we explore Tremor of Intent, Anthony Burgess's espionage novel published in 1966. Why did Burgess take on spy fiction, and what’s it got to do with Ian Fleming and John Le Carré? Let’s look at the evidence… 🔍 anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/spooks-at-...

We are very excited to announce our longlist for the 2026 Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. Congratulations to these excellent writers, whose subject matters included a cover of The Specials’ Ghost Town, an exhibition of autonomous robotic dogs, Brad Pitt racing motor cars, >

There are mere hours until the entry deadline for the 2026 Observer Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. One winner will get £3,000 and publication in The Observer, and two runners-up will each be awarded £500. Thanks for all of your reviews so far – our judges are in for a treat.

OUT TODAY! A brand new edition of ONE HAND CLAPPING, Anthony Burgess’s satire on consumerism. Northern housewife Janet tells of her husband’s success on a TV quiz show and the lavish lifestyle that follows. But something's not right... Buy now (affiliate link): uk.bookshop.org/a/15106/9781...

OUT TODAY! A brand new edition of TREMOR OF INTENT, Anthony Burgess’s spy caper Secret agent Denis Hillier boards a ship bound for Crimea. He must return a defector to England, but he’s past it and the ship may be filled with enemy agents Buy now (affiliate link): uk.bookshop.org/a/15106/9781...

The Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism is looking for the best new voices in cultural criticism. Entries close on 28 February 2026, so get scribbling! First prize is £3000 and publication in @theobserveruk.bsky.social Find out how to enter: www.anthonyburgess.org/observeranth...

Ahem...

Welly welly well, viddy this my brothers. We're going to like tolchock Captain America in his bolshy great yarbles.

🪖 NEW NINETY-NINE NOVELS EPISODE 🪖 It’s the final episode of the series and we’re exploring THE ANTI-DEATH LEAGUE by KINGSLEY AMIS, a novel Anthony Burgess calls ‘a noble cry from the heart on behalf of human suffering.’ Find at all pod-apps and here: www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...

On this week’s newsletter we’re celebrating the 250th birthday of Jane Austen with a piece by Anthony Burgess himself. Find out why he thinks she is ‘formidable’. Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/the-formid...

This quiz question about A Clockwork Orange appeared in The Australian newspaper. There is the obvious answer and the more esoteric answer. We are sure that The Australian doesn't have both, but can you name them? We'll give the answer later on, Bragging rights for anyone who gets there before us!

🐅 NEW NINETY-NINE NOVELS EPISODE 🐅 This week, a dystopian vision of a fascist Britain in THE OLD MEN AT THE ZOO by ANGUS WILSON. Writer and academic Marina MacKay guides us through the horrors. Find wherever you get your podcasts and here: www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...

On this week's newsletter, Anthony Burgess writes about the operatic works of Benjamin Britten, focussing on the seafaring Billy Budd. Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts by and about Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) and more: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/the-smell-...

🍆 NEW NINETY-NINE NOVELS EPISODE🍆 This week, the thorny issue of PORTNOY’S COMPLAINT by PHILIP ROTH. Is the novel more than its reputation? Is it really just about onanism? Roth expert Matthew Shipe helps us find out. All the usual places and here: www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...

A writer on a chat show?! ‘Not in a million years,’ you might say, but this week’s newsletter explores Anthony Burgess’s adventures in the world of light entertainment. The past is truly a different country. Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/chatty-man

⚙️NEW NINETY-NINE NOVELS EPISODE⚙️ A dystopian vision of the future, a young boy in a violent world, a made-up language. No, not A Clockwork Orange, but RIDDLEY WALKER by RUSSELL HOBAN. At all the usual places and here: www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...

🌅NEW NINETY-NINE NOVELS EPISODE🌅 The heaven of MICHAEL FRAYN’s SWEET DREAMS awaits us all: a glass city in which we take up middle-class bureaucratic jobs. A satirical novel that Anthony Burgess calls ‘deceptively tough’. At all the usual places and here: www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...

The final two months of 2025 are chock-a-block with events at the Burgess Foundation. This week's newsletter gives you the lowdown, including a rare chance to hear Anthony Burgess's compositions played on his own piano. All the listings: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/winter-202...

The Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism 2026 is now open for entries. Are you trying to make your name in arts journalism? Write a review of any new work in the arts for your chance to win £3000 and publication in the Observer. Enter now: www.anthonyburgess.org/observeranth...

⚔️NEW NINETY-NINE NOVELS EPISODE⚔️ This week: THE COUP by JOHN UPDIKE, in which an African dictator documents his fall from power. Andrew Biswell is led through the political intrigue by writer and critic Bob Batchelor. At all pod-apps or here: www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...