A classic of reportage, Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier and the experiences he wrote about were critical in the development of his political views and his commitment to democratic socialism. Our panellists make the journey back to the 1930s, and recount their own experiences of following in Orwell’s footsteps, accompanied along the way by Orwell biographer, D J Taylor.

Journalist and broadcaster Stephen Armstrong is author of the forthcoming The Road to Wigan Pier Revisited. Journalist, broadcaster and playwright Beatrix Campbell wrote Wigan Pier Revisited in 1984. Paul Mason is the economics editor of BBC Newsnight. He was part of the Newsnight team awarded a Special Orwell Prize in 2007. DJ Taylor is a novelist, biographer and critic. His George Orwell: The Life won the Whitbread Biography Prize.

Sponsored by The Orwell Prize