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

Kevin Costa, “Locker Key”

Dawson Prize

Robert Hal Brame, “Here”

 

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

George Hughes, “Six Basement”

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”

Paresh Patel, “eBoy”

 

outstanding achievement award

Charles P. Norman, “I Wore Chains to My Father’s Funeral”