International Anthony Burgess Foundation

12/06/2026

In celebration of Bloomsday next week, we are honouring an unsung figure in James Joyce’s life: his wife, Nora. Find out what Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) has to say about her in an article originally written on the centenary of Joyce in 1982.

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Anthony Burgess on the first biography of Nora Joyce

05/06/2026

In the week of Marilyn Monroe’s centenary, our latest newsletter explores Anthony Burgess’s thoughts on her films and her status as a symbol of American celebrity.

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Anthony Burgess on a Hollywood legend

29/05/2026

Music! Comedy! Talks! And… Umberto Eco?! It’s all happening at the Burgess Foundation in June. Click through to find out all our events listings, and how to engage with the Burgess Foundation if you are not in Manchester.

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Events at the Burgess Foundation in June 2026

22/05/2026

As the Guardian has just announced their 100 greatest novels of all time, in this week's newsletter, we look at literary lists, the forming of a canon, and the strangeness of Anthony Burgess’s own selection of favourite novels.

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Anthony Burgess and the art of the literary list

15/05/2026

Anthony Burgess was rarely photographed without his trademark Schimmelpenninck Duet cigar. In this week’s newspaper, he explores the history of the cigar and the allure of ‘prime stinkers’.

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Anthony Burgess considers the culture of cigar-smoking

13/05/2026

🚨 Breaking news

The WINNER of the 2026 Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism is Ciarán O’Rourke for their review of Miguel Conner’s biography The Occult Elvis: The Mystical and Magical Life of the King. Congratulations! Ciarán wins £3000 and publication in The Observer newspaper.

The 2026 runners-up, each receiving £500, are:
No’a L. bat Miri for their review of Siri Broch Johansen’s opera Ovllá at Oulu2026
Julia Clayton for their review of the 150th Anniversary Exhibition at The Atkinson

A huge thanks to everyone who entered, and to our judges. The results were announced at a packed ceremony in Bloomsbury this evening. 🏆

12/05/2026

Tomorrow, we will announce the WINNER of the 2026 Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. One entrant will receive £3000 and publication in The Observer. Two runners-up get £500 each. We will reveal the result at a live event in Bloomsbury, then announce to you, our loyal followers. Stand by for news...

10/05/2026

We welcome Robin Ince at the Burgess Foundation tomorrow. He'll be chatting Normally Weird Weirdly Normal, out now in paperback, and his new poetry collection Let The Quiet Ones Rise. There are some tickets still available – link in the comments.

08/05/2026

In this week’s newsletter, a celebration of the Scottish experimental novelist Muriel Spark. Anthony Burgess met her several times when they both lived in Rome, but what did he think of her novels?

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In which Anthony Burgess celebrates Muriel Spark

01/05/2026

In this week’s newsletter, all of the events happening in May at the Burgess Foundation in Manchester (and a special evening of music inspired by Anthony Burgess’s poetry now booking for June). Not in Manchester? Find out how to connect with us online.

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Events at the Burgess Foundation in May 2026