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
Richard Miller, “Lepidoptera or Butterflies”
Second Place
Joe Ricky Knight, “Poinsett County”
Third Place
Dawson Prize
Honorable Mentions
Arvan Washington, “Pieces of a Dream”
Zachary Redfearne, “Old Letter”
R.C. Brown, “A Way of Saying”
Louis Templeman, “The Secret Place”
Fiction
First Place
Samuel E. Harris, “Shepherds of the Passaic”
Second Place
Chris Everley, “Dead Men’s Shoes”
Third Place
Sheila Ellenbogen, “The Guilt Offering”
Dawson Prize
Anthony Tinsman, “A Selfish Discovery”
Joseph Jeffrey Burgeson, “No Light Escapes”
Honorable Mentions
Daniel E. Sharpe, “A House of Bitter Men”
Rick Matzke, “In a Nut’s Cell”
William H. Davis, Jr., “A Shameful Killing”
Memoir
First Place
Second Place
Santonio Murff, “Retired From the Game”
Third Place
Zachary Redfearne, “A Fresh End”
Dawson Prize
Sue Ellen Allen, “Fear”
Honorable Mentions
Frank E. Foster, “Learning to Swim”
T. Michael Fox, “No More With the Neighbors”
Gary Salinas, “The Man Scribbles of Big G”
Essay
First Place
D. Babb, “The First O.J. Book”
Second Place
Joseph Dole, “Unilaterally Punitive”
Third Place
Doug Coley, “A Strangely Fruitful, Frustrating Experience”
Honorable Mentions
Joseph Manning, “A Twisted Evening With Dr. Gonzo”
Michael McLean, “Thoughts When the Cell Door Closes”
Christian J. Weaver, “A Higher Morality”
drama
First Place
Keith Sanders, “Every Day’s Your Birthday”
Second Place
Gary Shively, “Heavy Hearts”
Third Place
Matthew G. Walker, “Second Chances”
Dawson Prize
George K. Johnson, “Trouble On a Rainy Day”
Honorable Mentions
Jackey R. Sollars, “Kings Highway”
Ciro Cid Adames, “Wrong Decision”