National non-profit Freedom Reads facilitates Inside Literary Prize book discussions, voting, and author events at California Institution for Men and Central California Women’s Facility
The national non-profit Freedom Reads facilitated Inside Literary Prize book discussions, voting, and author events for the second annual Inside Literary Prize at California Institution for Men and Central California Women’s Facility this week.
Launched in 2023 by Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, and the Center for Justice Innovation with support from Lori Feathers, the Inside Literary Prize is the first-ever US-based literary prize awarded exclusively by currently incarcerated people. 25 incarcerated readers at both California Institution for Men and Central California Women’s Facility are serving as judges for the 2025 Prize, casting their ballots this week for one of this year’s four shortlisted books – Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, This Other Eden by Paul Harding, On a Woman’s Madness by Astrid Roemer, and Blackouts by Justin Torres. The winner of the 2025 Prize will be announced this July.
As part of the Inside Literary Prize events, Aya de León, author and lecturer at University of California, Berkeley, joined Freedom Reads inside Central California Women’s Facility for a reading, Q&A, and book signing. The Freedom Reads team completed Inside Literary Prize tour stops in Illinois, Connecticut, and New Jersey earlier this month, and will be visiting prisons across 2 more states and territories this spring to bring the Inside Literary Prize to all 300 incarcerated judges.
“As we pass the halfway mark on this year’s Inside Literary Prize tour, I can’t help but reflect on the power of literature to bring us together,” said Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts. “Digging into the four shortlisted books for this year’s Prize – their writing, themes, and impact – has sparked lively conversation and unearthed important questions about these titles’ meaning to ourselves and to the world. Freedom Reads is grateful to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for partnering with us to ensure these important conversations happen."
“Freedom Reads is transforming lives through the power of literature, proving that books can be a lifeline to hope, humanity, and personal growth – even behind prison walls,” said California Institution for Men’s Warden (A) Eric Mejia.
“Books have been a part of my life since I could read,” Inside Literary Prize judge Erica at Central California Women’s Facility wrote to Freedom Reads. “I was 20 when I was arrested and have been incarcerated for 31 years and can relate to the transformative power. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this journey.”
About the Inside Literary Prize
In 2023, Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, and the Center for Justice Innovation, with support from literary podcaster Lori Feathers, announced the launch of the Inside Literary Prize, the first-ever US-based literary prize awarded exclusively by currently incarcerated people. The Prize is awarded each year to one of four shortlisted books by a jury of 300 incarcerated readers from prisons across the nation. This initiative seeks to honor the insights incarcerated readers add to cultural conversations and expand access to our country’s most thought-provoking literature for people who are incarcerated.