Asst Prof of Political Science @PolSciLeiden. Author: THE PICNIC (2023; bit.ly/42unDVV) & THE POLITICS OF BORDERS (2018). Native New Yorker.
Joined July 2017
- Tweets 6,403
- Following 4,097
- Followers 5,081
- Likes 14,009
454 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
28 Jun 2024
Hey Twitter!
The Picnic was just awarded the Orwell Prize!!!! Iβm stunned and honored and grateful.
Huge thanks to @TheOrwellPrize @TheBodleyHead @wwnorton
Some pics from a memorable night:
27 Jun 2024
Announcing the winner of The Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2024 - @matthewblongo for his book The Picnic [@TheBodleyHead]. Congratulations, Matthew!
With thanks to our judges @peterfrankopan, @sundersays, @christinalamb, @lola_seaton and @Silva, and prize sponsors @po_qu.
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Mar 10
π₯π₯π₯Hey Twitter! π₯π₯π₯
Some exciting news: my book, The Picnic, is now out in German !!!! (@ResidenzVerlag)
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Its called *DAS PICKNICK* and is available here:
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residenzverlag.com/buch/das-β¦
Please RT!!! (and send to any German speakers you know!)
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31 Dec 2025
Hey Twitter!
Happy New Year... continuing a tradition, here is the pile of books I read this year. Same rules as before: just "literature" (which for me means no philosophy or politics, or work, etc). Some classics, some re-reads, all fun.
What've you been reading?!?!?!?
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27 Nov 2025
I think the internet just discovered philosophy.
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11 Nov 2025
Hey Twitter Friends.... There's a big Thanksgiving Promotion for #ThePicnic audiobook ... link below
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50% OFF The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain audiobooks.com/promotions/prβ¦
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Matthew Longo retweeted
7 Jul 2025
From the archive - in August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists did the unthinkable: they entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain - and held a picnic. With @matthewblongo pod.fo/e/2171a7
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3 Jun 2025
Come join us tomorrow @Pushkin_House in London, for a discussion on the future of Europe w/ @hoyer_kat
Details belowβ¦πππ
3 Jun 2025
Which way, Europe?
Still tickets left for our event at @Pushkin_House tomorrow, with a stellar panel:
β‘οΈ Orwell Prize judge @hoyer_kat
β‘οΈ Orwell Prize winner @matthewblongo (The Picnic)
β‘οΈ Orwell Prize judge Colin Crouch
Book in person and livestream: pushkinhouse.org/whats-on/evβ¦
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Matthew Longo retweeted
30 May 2025
"We are beholden to a 'cartographic imaginary'βthe conviction that borders in real life look like they do on maps." @matthewblongo examines Ed Pulfordβs body of work on the politics and culture of the Chinese, Russian, and Korean borderlands. lareviewofbooks.org/article/β¦
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1 Jun 2025
π₯π₯Hey Twitter! π₯π₯
Check out my new essay in @LAReviewofBooks !!!
It looks at the question of borders and time in the writing of Ed Pulford. Link below.
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29 May 2025
"What does it mean to suggest that a 'place' inhabits a 'time'?" @matthewblongo reviews Ed Pulford's books on Sino-Korean-Russian borderlands. lareviewofbooks.org/article/β¦
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Matthew Longo retweeted
21 May 2025
In 1947 George Orwell wrote that Europe must be united to resist the dominance of two nuclear superpowers. Now, we're at a new crossroads.
Join @matthewblongo, Colin Crouch and myself to discuss Europe's past and future π
pushkinhouse.org/whats-on/evβ¦
ALT Img: UCL Special Collections
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21 May 2025
Hey London!
Come see me at the @Pushkin_House on June 4th... Conversation with @hoyer_kat & Colin Crouch... Thanks to @TheOrwellPrize !!!
Details below!
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20 May 2025
In 1947, Orwell argued that only a "United States of Europe" could survive a nuclear age. Now, Europe is at another crossroads.
Join @hoyer_kat, @matthewblongo & Colin Crouch at @Pushkin_House as we explore where Europe's been, and where it might go next: pushkinhouse.org/whats-on/evβ¦
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29 Apr 2025
Hey Twitter!
Please join me in the beautiful Cotswolds next week for the Chipping Campden Literature Festival (@campdenlitfest)
Details: βMatthew Longo: THE PICNICβ May 5th, 10:30am, Cidermill Theatre
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campdenmayfestivals.co.uk/liβ¦
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Matthew Longo retweeted
Just reading it now, nearly finishing, and itβs mind-blowing. I was at uni studying History when the Mauerfall fell, and reading this book gives me goosebumps, remembering how I felt at the time.
Best book Iβve seen on the topic so far.
Well-deserved @TheOrwellPrize!
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13 Mar 2025
Come join me in the Cotswolds! (@campdenlitfest)!!!
May 5th, 10:30am
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We're looking forward to meeting you, too, @matthewblongo at
campdenmayfestivals.co.uk/liβ¦
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Matthew Longo retweeted
Catch up with @matthewblongo in Cotswolds 10.30am 5th May when he presents his 2024 @TheOrwellPrize winning THE PICNIC
"Engrossing and dramatic" William Boyd Book tickets online: campdenmayfestivals.co.uk/liβ¦... Meanwhile S*bstack Link below
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10 Mar 2025
"Here I take a page from Orwell himself..."
Read @matthewblongo's "Imposter!" - a profound reflection on winning The Orwell Prize, European history, and the role of "unsurety" in Orwell's own work - on our S*bstack. Link below!
@TheBodleyHead @po_qu
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Matthew Longo retweeted
10 Mar 2025
"Here I take a page from Orwell himself..."
Read @matthewblongo's "Imposter!" - a profound reflection on winning The Orwell Prize, European history, and the role of "unsurety" in Orwell's own work - on our S*bstack. Link below!
@TheBodleyHead @po_qu
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Matthew Longo retweeted
9 Mar 2025
From the archive - The Picnic That Ripped Open The Iron Curtain with @matthewblongo pod.fo/e/2171a7
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7 Mar 2025
Hey Twitter!
Very pleased to announce that I have an essay up on the @TheOrwellPrize Substack⦠Its about writing history, imposter syndrome, and the merits of insecure narration.
Check it out here:
orwellfoundation.substack.coβ¦
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25 Feb 2025
Hey Australia peeps... I'm coming to Adelaide Writers' Week !!!! (March 1-6, 2025).
If you're around. DM me... Details below ππππ
adelaidefestival.com.au/evenβ¦
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