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
Gordon Grilz, “The Nature of Things”
Second Place
David Thomas, “Behind George Washington’s Face”
Third Place
Dominique Ramser, “Observations By Self”
Honorable Mentions
Bratt Jones, “Fairy Tales From the Depths of Hell”
Eric V. Reid, “She Makes Me Feel”
Kyle D. Sharp, “Where Fields Have Been Planted”
FICTION
First Place
Gary Farlow, “The Prison”
Second Place
John Byron Yarborough, “The Calm”
Third Place
Jorge Antonio Renaud, “The Restless of Bound Wrists”
Honorable Mentions
David Wood, “The Clockworks”
Gary Parks, “Peckerwood”
Curtis Petty, “Long Ago and Far Away”
MEMOIR
First Place
Paresh Patel, “The Longest Day”
Second Place
Joseph Urbaniak, “Lost Trust, Lost Friend”
Honorable Mentions
Gary Don Park, “All Day Singing With Dinner On The Grounds”
George Hughes, “I Still Remember”
DRAMA
First Place
John Whitfield, “Pro Se”
Second Place
David Warren Sligar, “Damage Control”
Third Place
Gary Farlow, “Sticks”
Dawson Prize
Julia Averitt, “Untitled”
Honorable Mention
Christian Allesandro Sierra, “Valor”