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, and $25 are awarded for first, second, third place, and honorable mention, respectively, in each of the following categories:
POETRY
First Place
Romeo Wm. Bartley, “In My Bedroom”
Second Place
J.L. Wise, Jr., “No Brownstones, Just Alleyways & Corner Pockets Full”
Third Place
William Eric Waters, “Chronicling Sing Sing Prison”
Honorable Mentions
David Wood, “The Zen of Razorwire”
Danny A. Witten, “Me, Hitler, and the Trail of Tears”
Mark Read, “Over the Lounge on First Avenue”
FICTION
First Place
Robert Kelsey, “Suicide: A Suitable Fifty Dollar Myth”
Second Place
Susan Rosenberg, “Positive Woman”
Third Place
Paul St. John, “Behind the Mirror’s Face”
Honorable Mentions
O’Neil Stough, “Deliberate Indifference”
Jackie Ruzas, “Ryan’s Ryse”
Jerry R. Mulliken, Jr., “A Moment in Time”
MEMOIR
Award Winner
Susan Rosenberg, “The Airlift”
ESSAY
First Place (tie)
Victor Hassine, “My Friend Howard”
Stuart Dawson, “Cowboys Don’t Really Die”
Third Place
Russell T. Kinkade, “The Schizophrenic God”
Honorable Mentions
Charles P. Norman, “The National Urban League”
Jon M. Taylor, “Just Us”
Vanessa Fletcher, “Inside the Heart and Mind”
Jan Joseph Jackson, “Confessions of Johnny Carter”
Dennis J. Dechaine, “Prison As Ecoptopia”
DRAMA
First Place
David Wood, “Listen to the River”
Second Place
Jeff Allenzy, “Another Way”
Third Place
Charles P. Norman, “Hang, Man”
Honorable Mentions
Randolph Bass, “Bums”
Stephen Wayne Anderson, “The Hearing”
Stephen Fraley, “Choices”
William Eric Waters, “The Homecoming”