You probably know that some books don’t politely knock. They show up, sit down, and make themselves very comfortable – sometimes at a level that makes us really uncomfortable. But that discomfort is necessary. These books might unsettle you. They might haunt you. They might leave you feeling some type of way - and then leave you feeling that way for a while.
From August to November, our Inside Literary Prize pre-selection committee members (shoutout to Reese, Jermaine, Kye, Willie, Phan, Hadlee, Ms. Smith, and Keck) have been living in that tension. The committee members were selected straight from last year's Inside Literary Prize judges in Illinois. They were able to join us virtually from their correctional facilities and work in community with the Freedom Reads team.
We spent weeks reading ten remarkable titles drawn from the National Book Award lists in fiction and translated fiction. We read. We debated. We spiraled (intellectually). And along the way, these were some of the reactions from the committee that stuck with me:
“This book makes me feel unsettled.”
“It unnerves me. This is important work.”
“It was haunting. Borderline eerie.”
“Can the colonized and the colonizer ever truly meet halfway?”
“Was it helpful, or a hindrance, to keep comparing myself to the author?”
“Would this book be important for the world to read?”
“It pushed me to think about how I travel, and how we move in spaces that aren’t our own.”
Talking and discussing is how ten books slowly became five.
I can’t officially say which of the five works were chosen to become this year’s Inside Literary Prize shortlist. I can’t even hint at it and would rather keep you all in suspense. But I can say this: these five books will ask a lot of their readers, and they will give a lot in return. (The Finalists will be announced in mid-March).
Behind the scenes, the Inside Literary Prize is very much underway. We’re currently knee-deep in conversations with 12 correctional facilities across six states, preparing for this year’s program. Soon, 300 Inside judges will all be reading the same five books - stay tuned.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be launching virtual Zoom sessions with judges at each facility, one of our favorite parts of the Inside Literary Prize. It’s when we finally get to meet the men and women Inside - the people we’ll be reading with, thinking alongside, and learning from over the next few months.
And if you’re reading this right now and feeling genuinely frustrated because you desperately want to get your hands on the books so you can read along with us — I get it. I really do. So listen, just between you and me. . . you’ll know soon.
But here's what you can do now: write to us and have a friend subscribe to our newsletter. By the time your letter reaches our mailbox, we should have officially announced the 2026 Inside Literary Prize shortlist, and you'll be among the first to know.