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 (tie)
Kathy Boudin, “A Trilogy of Journeys”
Jon Schillaci, “Americans”
Second Place
Barbara Saunders, “Wold”
Third Place
Joseph Burgeson, “No Passage”
Honorable Mentions
Marilyn Buck, “Thirteen Springs”
Christopher Presfield, “Old Don and Frisbee”
Douglas Scott Nowell, “Regrets”
FICTION
First Place
Scott Antworth, “The Tower Pig”
Second Place
Patricia Coyne, “Trash Call”
Third Place
Joe Martier, “Arty, Arty in Free”
Honorable Mentions
James Raupp, “Death of a Jailhouse Lawyer”
James Gothrup-Marker, “Calybou (excerpt)”
Phillip S. Barcia, “The Real Thing”
MEMOIR
Award Winner
Eric Reid, “I Am The Wall”
ESSAY
First Place
Ken Lamberton, “Of Prison Parks and Bug Watching”
Second Place
Victor Hassine, “Monochromes From Over a Prison’s Edge”
Third Place
William Eric Waters, “A Day in the Life of a Jailhouse Lawyer”
Honorable Mentions
Flanders Jordan, “Fish Fry”
Kenneth Monsebroten, “Stranger Behind Glass”
Donald LaDow, “Strange Angels”
DRAMA
First Place
Alex Friedmann, “The Row”
Second Place
Bob Martin, “Mel’s Hole”
Third Prize (tie)
James Raupp, “Thrown Stones and Retro Moans”
Reginald S. Lewis, “Good Night, Boo Baby”
Honorable Mentions
William H. David, Jr., “Closing Arguments in the Trial of Mr. Gunn”
Lance E. Fleming, “Swinechild”