Emma Stammen is a fellow with the Prison and Justice Writing Program at PEN America. She received her BA with honors from Scripps College, where she majored in feminist, gender and sexuality studies and English. Prior to PEN America, she worked with the Correctional Association of New York, contributing to reports on parole, mental health care in prison, and the effects of COVID behind bars. In 2019, she received a Mellon Foundation grant to research the history of women’s prisons in California, New York, and Washington, for use in her senior honors thesis. She has also interned with The Seattle Clemency Project, where she interviewed clemency recipients and compiled stories on their experiences with reentry. Originally from Seattle, WA, she is now located in Los Angeles.
Emma Stammen
Fellow, Prison and Justice Writing
Articles by Emma Stammen
A Movement to Bend the Arc: Keeda J. Haynes’ Memoir on Second-Chance Culture
Emma Stammen reviews Keeda J. Haynes’ memoir, “Bending the Arc: My Journey from Prison to Politics” (Seal Books, 2021).
“Do you really want to know why the caged bird sings?”: On Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir
Emma Stamen reviews Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir Bird Uncaged (Bold Type Books, 2021)
Addiction, Subjectivity, and Selfhood: Introducing David Sanchez’s First Novel, “All Day is a Long Time”
Prison and Justice Writing Fellow Emma Stammen speaks with writer David Sanchez about his debut novel, “All Day is a Long Time.”