Unmasked blogger NightJack named judge for Orwell Prize 2010

Richard Horton, winner of the first Orwell Prize for bloggers, will be one of the judges for the 2010 blog award.

After winning the prize in 2009, Horton, a serving policeman who blogged as Jack Night, was forced out of anonymity by the Times newspaper, when an injunction was overturned in the High Court earlier this year.

The Times argued it was necessary to unmask him, claiming that his blog gave too many details about particular cases.

"This decision damages our capacity to understand ourselves just when we need new forms to develop, " wrote the Prize's director, Professor Jean Seaton, at the time of the landmark ruling.

Oona King, head of diversity at Channel 4 and former Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow will also judge the blog prize 2010. Jonathan Heawood (director, English PEN), Andrew Holgate (literary editor, Sunday Times) and Francine Stock (writer and broadcaster) will judge the Book Prize. Roger Graef (writer, filmmaker, criminologist) and Peter Kellner (journalist, President of YouGov) will judge the Journalism Prize.

Tonight the annual book, journalism and blog prizes were officially launched at the Frontline Club in London, with a Q&A, debate, exhibition and performance themed 'What next for Burma?'

Hilary Mantel, winner of the Man Booker Prize, is to give the Orwell Memorial Lecture on November 17.

"The Orwell Prize is different from other prizes because we take the arguments that come in from the great writing the Prize attracts out and about. It's not just about the winners, the shortlists and the longlists, outstanding as they always are: it's about making us all think more clearly about difficult political problems - making political argument into an art," said Jean Seaton, executive director of the Orwell Prize.
 
"It's also rather good at setting the agenda: last year we set the pace on Afghanistan and this year we hope to make a real punch with Burma. We unexpectedly ended up in the middle of a High Court battle after The Times sought to unmask NightJack, and we are thrilled that amongst our distinguished judges, Richard Horton (Jack Night himself) will be bringing his arresting and Orwell Prize-winning common sense and wit to judging the Blog Prize."

• Night Jack background at this link.

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