Prison & Justice Writing
For more than four decades, PEN America’s Prison Writing Program has amplified the writing of thousands of imprisoned writers by providing free resources, skilled mentors, and audiences for their writing. We are proud to share our deepening commitment to confronting our era of mass incarceration with the launch of the 2018 PEN America Writing For Justice Fellowship. Read below for more information about our initiatives.
For information on writing programs in prison across the United States, click here to access our living document database.
Writing for Justice Fellowship
The PEN America Writing For Justice Fellowship will commission six writers—emerging or established—to create written works of lasting merit that illuminate critical issues related to mass incarceration and catalyze public debate. Applications open on April 15. Learn more »
Prison Writing Program
Founded in 1971, the PEN Prison Writing Program believes in the restorative, rehabilitative and transformative possibilities of writing. We provide hundreds of imprisoned writers across the country with free writing resources, skilled mentors, and audiences for their work. Our program supports free expression, and encourages the use of the written word as a legitimate form of power. We strive towards an increasingly integrative approach, aiming to amplify the voices and writing of imprisoned people to expand beyond the silo of prison, and identity of prisoner.
Click here to download a printable PDF copy of our offerings.
Handbook for Writers in Prison
PEN’s Handbook for Writers in Prison features detailed guides on the art of writing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays—an invaluable resource for any writer. Each year, thousands of free copies are sent to incarcerated men and women.
Annual Prison Writing Contest
Every year hundreds of imprisoned writers from around the country submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic works to PEN’s Prison Writing Contest, one of the few outlets of free expression for the country’s incarcerated population.
Mentorship Program
Consisting of more than 250 mentors working with close to 250 incarcerated writers, PEN America’s Prison Writing Mentorships continues to be the most interactive and engaging project in the Prison Writing Program.
The Prison Writing Contest Prizes are sponsored by the generous support of the Greenburger Center for Social & Criminal Justice.
Programming for PEN America’s Prison Writing Program is made possible in part by generous funding from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Read Award-Winning Works from the PEN Prison Writing Contest
Poetics: Mid-summer 2016 (fragments from a freestyle)
Troy asked me today: “So have you put any thought into what you want to do when you get out of here?” More
Foreign Lands: A Slice of Seg
The prisoner in Cell 32 is intermittently tapping on his window with something hard enough that the sound fills the pod. He yells at random intervals, opening the play… More
Vader’s Redemption
You know what I liked about that movie? More than the first one? It wasn’t the big reveal—but it was—big! It was the fact that Luke wasn’t mad that… More
The Moronic Inferno: Snoring Toward Bethlehem
William is once more snoring and Brit is despondent from lack of sleep. He tentatively taps on the bunk above him, but there is no change or response. ... More
600 Days of Silence
What I most like to talk about with Wilson is music. He has an extensive knowledge about all genres. I enjoy these conversations the most because they lift my… More
Double Secret Probation: The Two-Week Paper Blog
I have 73 weeks left of prison, and if I pass the two-week probation period, I plan to ride it out here, even though the copier frightens me. More
How to Kill Someone
You had no knowledge of receiving homes, group homes, incarceration, life on the streets, or the State as anything other than a beneficent social structure. I know because you… More
Of Arrestable Professions
In fact, it was not until 2026 that the man’s talents were finally recognized, said re-evaluation ultimately prompted by the downfall of cable television... More
Alert Us
To any writer artist who is at risk, or is in need of assistance, including those denied entry into the U.S. as a result of the latest Trump Administration travel ban. 
