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, and $25 are awarded for first, second, third place, and honorable mention, respectively, in each of the following categories:
POETRY
First Place (tie)
Alejo Daw’ud Rodriguez, “Parole Board Bluez”
Richard Earl Young, “Pluck”
Second Place
Marilyn Buck, “21st & Guerrero”
Third Place
John Byron Yarborough, “The Job”
Honorable Mentions
Allen Unselt, “8:15”
Philip Homer, “Regrets And Other Souvenirs”
Paul Ferguson, “Dog That Died”
FICTION
First Place
Charles Hucklebury, Jr., “I Killed Timothy McVeigh”
Second Place
Gary Parks, “Dopeshed Reverie”
Third Place
Reginald Alexander, “Doll’s Story”
Honorable Mentions
Tyrine Wyche, “Under The Gun”
Francisco Hernandez, “The Real Vida Loca”
James Russel, “Wind of Faith”
George Hughes, “Hate And Revenge Walk in the Shoes of a Dead Man”
MEMOIR
Award Winners
Christopher Dylan Gable, “Untitled (Tomato)”
Derrick Corely, “Death House”
Honorable Mentions
Gerhard Hanneman, “Entering Orange at San Quentin”
Raymond E. Williams, “Begging to Get Into Prison”
Seth M. Ferranti, “The American Dream”
ESSAY
First Place
Paul Ferguson, “The Hole”
Second Place
Walter L. Parman, “Death of a Prison”
Third Place
G. Wilford Hathorm, “Animus”
DRAMA
First Place
David Taber, “The Recital”
Second Place
Christian Alessandro Sierra (Rafael Vasquez), “Take the Time”