incarcerated writers

16 posts

Why isn’t PEN America paying its incarcerated literary prize winners?

It started with a tweet. “I won the @PENamerica Prison Writing Contest in 2022 and never received the $250 prize, even after much back and forth via email, which continues to this day. I know of at least one other first place winner who never received their prize money, either,

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6 Min
By: Alex Tretbar, Natalye Childress

Never eat the candy on your pillow: Circle of trust

Dear Reader, “To be or not to be?” Hamlet famously asked this question in the play by the same name written by William Shakespeare. I first encountered the life-changing power of Hamlet when I signed up for a prison playwright’s circle called Voices Inside, created by Curt Tofteland and

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5 Min
By: Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.

Never eat the candy on your pillow: Technology and the imprisoned

Powerlessness impacts every aspect of an incarcerated person’s life—including the use of technology

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5 Min
By: Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.

Incarcerated writers struggle to be heard—the tech they use creates additional hurdles

Widely used prison tech company Securus has created communications issues for incarcerated writers. Some report losing all of their work, and others report being overcharged for their communications

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6 Min
By: Rukiya Colvin

Showing 12 of 16 total posts

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