Julian Blanchard

When he was 27, Julian Blanchard discovered that a B.A. in math and an M.A. in Scandinavian Literature were useless. Falling back on excellent childhood training, he became an “accidental musician,” spending 20 years as a keyboardist, arranger, and music proofreader for movies, TV, concerts, etc. He started writing fiction while incarcerated: short stories, a novella, and a soon-to-be-finished novel. Julian has studied screenwriting and plans to adapt his novella, Don’t Try Again, for the big screen.

Winner, 2022 PEN America Prison Writing Contest – Fielding Dawson Prize in Fiction for “The Intern


Articles by Julian Blanchard

Prison and Justice Writing
Wednesday September 7

The Intern

Julian Blanchard was awarded the Fielding Dawson Prize in Fiction 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. People have always

Prison and Justice Writing
Wednesday November 11

Enthusiasm is Catching

These dual essays were written by Seth Wittner and Katrinka (Kei) Moore, 2020 honorees for the PEN America/L’Engle-Rahman Prize for Mentorship.