PEN America sponsors the annual PEN Prison Writing Awards as part of the Prison and Justice Writing Program. Anyone incarcerated in federal, state, or county prison or jail is eligible to enter. Submissions for the 2025 awards cycle will be accepted between August 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024. Winners will be announced in summer 2025.
Prizes of $250, $150, $100, and $25 are awarded for first, second, third, and honorable mention places. Winner receive publication in the PEN Prison Writing Awards Anthology and are offered writing support through the PEN Prison Writing Mentorship Program. All winners are recognized at the annual Break Out celebration in December, where selections from the recently published anthology will be performed by writers, actors, artists, and activists. Authors retain all rights to their own writing. In some instances, writers who do not win an award but whose efforts are recognized by the judging committee, are nominated for mentorship.
Incarcerated writers may submit material in the genres of poetry, fiction, nonfiction (essay and/or memoir), and drama (screen/stage play). Authors may not submit more than one entry in each category, except in poetry. Authors may submit entries to more than one genre (e.g. fiction and drama). No application or form is necessary.
The submissions guidelines are as follows:
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Include a brief cover letter that includes your name, address, identification number, the genre(s) you are submitting to, and the title(s) of your piece(s).
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If you are submitting poetry, the maximum page limit is 20.
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If you are submitting to drama, fiction, or nonfiction, the maximum page number per submission is 25.
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Complete novels or memoirs are not allowed. Please send a short excerpt of no more than 25 pages. The excerpt you choose should be what you consider to be the best reflection of your work.
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Manuscripts should be typewritten and double-spaced whenever possible, or legibly handwritten on 8.5-by-11-inch paper.
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Please be sure to send copies of your work, not the originals. PEN is unable to return manuscripts. Always include a return address.
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Entries must be unpublished manuscripts, with the exception of pieces that have appeared in publications for the prison population only. Previously published manuscripts will not be considered.
Any topic that moves you is fit for our contest, and no entries will be disqualified based on content. Any subject matter will be considered.
DEADLINE:
Submissions must be postmarked between August 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025. Submissions received after the due date will be considered for the next award cycle.
Submit by sending work to:
PEN America Prison and Justice Writing Program
ATTN: PEN Prison Writing Awards
120 Broadway
26th Floor North
New York, NY 10271
