Freedom Reads Brings Inside Literary Prize to Washington State Correctional Facilities
Program visits Washington Corrections Center for Women and Washington State Penitentiary as part of national literary prize for incarcerated readers
Freedom Reads, the national nonprofit dedicated to bringing literature into America's prisons, traveled to Washington state last week to host Inside Literary Prize events at two correctional facilities: Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) and Washington State Penitentiary (WSP). The visits mark Freedom Reads' third stop on the six-state prison tour, bringing author readings, book discussions, and voting to incarcerated readers.
The Inside Literary Prize is built around the perspectives of incarcerated readers — participants read finalist titles, discuss the books among themselves, and cast votes to determine the winner.
The Washington visits reflect the organization's belief that literature is not a privilege but a right, one that belongs to everyone. Through the Inside Literary Prize, Freedom Reads works to ensure that incarcerated readers are not simply recipients of programming but active participants in a national literary conversation.
