Monthly Archives: August 2024

Inside Literary Prize: And the Winner Is…



A brief, moving excerpt from the recent award ceremony at the New York Public Library announcing the inaugural winner of the Inside Literary Prize, the first major U.S. book award to be judged exclusively by people who are incarcerated.

Hear from Freedom Reads founder and CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts, and from this year’s winner…

And please be sure to listen to our earlier episode, profiling the work of some of the judges for this prize: ‘Inside Literary Prize: Shakopee Women’s Prison.’


Inside Literary Prize: Shakopee Women’s Prison



“They actually care. They want to hear about what we think, the ones that they have shut away.”

The Inside Literary Prize is the first major U.S. book award to be judged exclusively by people who are incarcerated, some of the most prolific readers in the country.

Yet the walls we erect around incarcerated people also disappear them from conversations about culture, politics, and history—conversations to which they can make vital contributions.

In this special episode, hear a behind-the-scenes portrait of what a day of judging sounded like in Minnesota’s Shakopee women’s prison.

Full show notes