July 2025 Newsletter

Everyone who has ever been given a state number has a story of a cell door closing. And too often the stories that make it out from behind those closed cell doors are of sorrow. The sorrow of so many become the substance of films and of folklore, of the narratives of men like Malcolm X or Nathan McCall or Petey Greene or Merle Haggard or a half‑a‑dozen men in Bruce Springsteen songs. So many of us with debts no honest man can pay. I think of Susan Burton or Angela Davis or the many women I’ve met as I’ve walked back into prisons, their names less well known, but their struggles no less visceral. And yet, the thing less known than all those stories is how often an open book leads to shifting someone’s life—even for simply the span of time it takes to get from that first page to the last.

Over five states and Puerto Rico, the Freedom Reads team went Inside and watched as groups of men and women engaged in a vitally important literary duty: they came together and got into why books mattered. They read deeply and debated fiercely four finalist works—Chain‑Gang All‑Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei‑Brenyah, This Other Eden by Paul Harding, On a Woman’s Madness by Astrid Roemer (translated by Lucy Scott), and Blackouts by Justin Torres. These books offered language for trauma, reflections on injustice, and new ways of seeing ourselves and our lives. And in July, Chain‑Gang All‑Stars was named the winner of the 2025 Inside Literary Prize. We were the first organization to go inside a Puerto Rican prison and bring this particular joy for books. And they told us: it mattered that they could read. It mattered that they could judge. It mattered that they could be heard.

One of the most profound things to witness is someone confessing to seeing their reflection in a sentence. Jason Reynolds says the magical thing about the English language—any language, really, but he was talking about English—is that we say it all, every word in every book, with just 26 letters. To find your regrets, your hopes, your people on the page—that’s the miracle. And now, I get to ask you to help us keep this miracle going. If you believe that freedom begins with a book, support Freedom Reads today.

Reginald Dwayne Betts
Freedom Reads Founder & CEO

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was awarded the 2025 Inside Literary Prize, the first major US literary prize judged exclusively by incarcerated readers. 300 people incarcerated in six states and territories across the country voted on the Prize, which was launched last year by Freedom Reads in collaboration with the National Book Foundation, the Center for Justice Innovation, and Interabang Books co-owner Lori Feathers.

At Freedom Reads, Allie serves as our Development Manager—but she’ll be the first to tell you that title only scratches the surface. Her work goes far beyond fundraising. From writing grant proposals to engaging with our Library Patrons, Allie is a key part of bringing our mission to life. She’s traveled to all 15 stops of the Inside Literary Prize tour this year, helping collect stories, discuss books, and take photos.

Last month, we shared a quick survey to help us make this newsletter more meaningful and useful to you—and we’d still love to hear your thoughts.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, please take a minute to fill it out below.

Thank you!

By Lori Gruen, Senior Advisor, Freedom Reads

Why do some people love certain books that other people really can’t stand?  That may seem a weird question -- some people like Brussel sprouts and other people hate them, some people like to watch the news or the weather channel or romcoms and other people avoid all that as much as they can, some people love jazz music and others find it boring. To each their own.

But when it comes to literature and other works of art, the way that people respond can have deeper meaning.

By Lyndie Felsher

I was so honored, grateful, and deeply moved to be invited to speak at the Inside Literary Prize event on July 10, 2025.   Not so long ago, within the walls of prison, loneliness was my constant companion. Isolation had become my reality, and hope felt like a distant memory. Each day felt heavier than the last.

This July, both NBC News and Telemundo featured in-depth stories on our mission to transform prison cells into spaces of possibility through handcrafted Freedom Libraries and literature.

Coverage also spotlighted the second annual Inside Literary Prize, the only book prize judged exclusively by people incarcerated across the country. Kirkus and Literary Hub celebrated this year’s winner—Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah—for his novel Chain-Gang All-Stars, recognizing its impact not just in the literary world, but inside prisons as well.

You can experience this year's ceremony at the video below.

In each newsletter we aim to share at least one letter (or excerpt) from one of Freedom Reads now 37,000-plus Freedom Library patrons. Freedom Reads receives many letters from the Inside. They mean so much to us. And we respond to each and every one of them.  We also include comments from DoC officials that appreciate our work.