Break Out: PEN America Celebrates Prison Writing Awards and New Anthology
PEN America celebrated the winners of its 2022 Prison Writing Awards as it launched the new anthology, Variations on an Undisclosed Location, with an event at the Brooklyn Public… More
Character Development: A National Novel Writing Month Pep Talk
Writer William Myrl Smitherman writes a pep talk for incarcerated writers for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). More
On Pressing the Bounds of What’s Possible: A Conversation with Emile DeWeaver
PEN America Prison and Justice Writing intern Charley Burlock interviews writer Emile DeWeaver. More
Record Label Die Jim Crow Gives Incarcerated Artists the Spotlight
PEN America intern Tomás Miriti Pacheco features Die Jim Crow Records, the first record label dedicated to incarcerated artists in the United States. More
Variations on an Undisclosed Location: 2022 Prison Writing Awards Anthology
This anthology represents the indispensable archive of the creativity and intellect of incarcerated writers. It also exists simultaneously as a vehicle of connection with the world and other incarcerated… More
Multiplicity and Narratives of Confinement in “Faces of Resilience,” Presented by the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia
PEN America intern Alexandra Fiorentino-Swinton reviews "Faces of Resilience," a show featuring artists who are justice-involved, presented by the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia. More
Introducing I am climbing the stairs that I create with these words all the way to the top: A NaPoWriMo Zine
PEN America's Sophia Ramirez introduces our newest Prison Writing poetry zine, "I am climbing the stairs that I create with these words all the way to the top," for… More
Online Conversation March 16 on Access to Books in Prisons and the Use of E-Readers
With 2 million people in prisons and jails across the country, restricting reading could have profound ramifications for the men and women cycled through the criminal legal system and… More
Introducing ‘Love Lay Dormant’: A 2021 Prison Writing NaNoWriMo Zine
Our Greater Constellations zine springs from the inspired poetic work created by members of our PEN America Prison Writing community during National Poetry Writing Month. More
New Guidance: E-Readers in Prisons Must Expand Access to Reading, Not Supplant Books Altogether
New guidance on e-readers use in prisons seeks to expand reading, not supplant books altogether. More
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"Amid efforts to restrict books that include race-related themes, several new book clubs have launched around the country to keep literature by Black authors in the spotlight." #BlackHistoryMonth https://www.moultrieobserver.com/news/local_news/black-history-month-black-authors-keep-history-alive-amid-efforts-to-suppress-blackness/article_ff445067-f6a1-5ad9-892b-360850922553.html via @themobserver
Read our story on the DeSantis book bans ⬇️ https://twitter.com/penamerica/status/1621508379586985985
🧵4/8: This week @BKLYNlibrary & @PENamerica @jonfreadom launched the 1st session in our 4-week Freedom to Read Advocacy Institute. What struck me most in that workshop session was the craving our teen participants had for community, for connection. https://tinyurl.com/yy5ek3s5