The Orwell Festival: Behind Closed Doors and Hope High

There are now more children in care than ever before, and not because of a rise in physical or sexual abuse, but because of complex factors that are overlooked and misunderstood. In her Orwell-shortlisted book Behind Closed Doors, Polly Curtis investigates how a broken children's care system is failing families and leading to further societal problems, foregrounding the stories of those at the heart of the issues. She will joined by Annabel Deas, whose 7 part podcast series Hope High documents the year she spent with a community in Huddersfield where a number of children were being exploited by county lines drug dealers, and won the 2021 Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain's Social Evils. The two will discuss how society can best serve children and teenagers in precarious situations, and what their work taught them about our country's ability to help young people to flourish.