Every year, hundreds of imprisoned writers from around the country submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic works to PEN America’s Prison Writing Contest, one of the few outlets of free expression for the country’s incarcerated population. Manuscripts come to the Prison Writing Program in a variety of forms: Some are handwritten, some are typed, some are written in the margins of legal documents. Prizes of $250, $150, $100, $50, and $25 are awarded for first, second, third place, the Dawson Prize, and honorable mentions, respectively, in each of the following categories:
Poetry
First Place
Brian Batchelor, “Dear Voyage“
Second Place
Sarah Allen, “Music“
Third Place
Charles Patrick Norman, “Sedimentary“
Dawson Prize
Lorraine K. Bennett-Kenitzki, “Atmosphere Colors“
Honorable Mentions
Brian Maddock, “Widower”
Moneke Danyell Moody, “Saints and Rebels“
Juangelo L. Nelson, “Shakedown”
Fiction
First Place
Haley Teget, “Junk Menagerie”
Second Place
Dylan Jeffrey, “Symmetry Gates“
Third Place
Kenneth R. Brydon, “Consensus of Death“
Dawson Prize
Jason Cockburn, “Labels Break Me“
Honorable Mentions
Philip Dugger, “The Boat Rower”
Joshua Hill, “Black Jesus” (Posthumous)
Joan Marsh, “Woman Lost”
Denis Martinez, “Sofia’s Habit”
Essay
First Place
Burl N. Corbett, “The Centaur’s Son“
Second Place
Melvin L. Boone Jr., “Dark Corners“
Third Place
Randy Gometz, “Prison Perspectives on Schopenhauer“
Dawson Prize
La’Torie Woodberry, “Tears of Blood“
Honorable Mentions
Santonio D. Murff, “Gotta Make’em Pay!”
Steven Thomas, “Tales from the Rock; Skunk and the Search Team”
Anna M. Vanderford, “America’s Most Unwanted“
Memoir
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Isiko Raymond, “The Summer I Lost My Innocence“
Honorable Mentions
Jason Cooper, “Purrfect Partner”
Sandra Sysyn, “Holding On”
Eddie Zayas, “Compliments to the Chef”
Drama
First Place
M.A. Mendoza, “The Legend of John Crow“
Second Place
Derek Trumbo Sr., “Inferno“
Third Place
Dawson Prize
Reese T. Basile, “Hamlet Uncut: Silencing the Lark“
Honorable Mentions
Juan Falcon, “El Judio”
Tim Lee, “Where are you Christmas”