Evan Drennan

My whole life I’ve thought of myself as a writer. “Aspiring writer,” well, do you aspire to write…? Certainly. And that I did. So I see myself simply now as a writer, without the unnecessary prefix. What you do defines you but I don’t see myself as a victim of circumstance. I might have sold drugs and gone to prison, but that’s not who I am. I used that time to sharpen my sword — work on my craft— to a razor’s edge and use my mind to get out of those dark places. Writing helped me rise above oppression through expression and I want to instill that risky hope in others. Hopefully my writing lets you escape, too.

Winner, 2022 PEN America Prison Writing Contest – 3rd Place in Drama for “Chasing the Apex


Articles by Evan Drennan

Wednesday September 7

Chasing the Apex

Evan Drennan was awarded 3rd Place in Drama in the 2022 Prison Writing Contest. Every year, hundreds of imprisoned people 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. Read “Chasing the Apex” here.