Four new books have been selected for the 2025 Inside Literary Prize, the first major US book award judged by incarcerated people.
Four more award-winning books will make their way to prisons across the country to be read and discussed by hundreds of incarcerated people as part of the second annual Inside Literary Prize, the first major US book award judged exclusively by people in prison.
The Inside Literary Prize—organized by the Center, Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, and bookstore owner and literary podcaster Lori Feathers—gives readers in prison a chance to engage with current literature and vote on a winning book, leaving their mark on the cultural conversation. The books nominated for this year’s award are Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s Chain-Gang All-Stars, Paul Harding’s This Other Eden, Astrid Roemer’s On a Woman’s Madness, and Justin Torres’s Blackouts.
In the coming days, 300 judges across 12 prisons will receive copies of the books, all National Book Awards finalists. Additional copies will also be made available at each facility’s library, open to all incarcerated people and correctional staff. After weeks of reading, judges will have a chance to engage in live discussions, participate in readings with acclaimed authors, and cast their votes on a winning book in June.
Last year, more than 200 incarcerated readers awarded the inaugural Inside Literary Prize to Imani Perry for her book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation. The 2025 shortlist was decided by a selection committee including incarcerated readers, writers, and Department of Corrections librarians.
Crystal “Alex” Capilla, a member of the selection committee in Arizona and one of the incarcerated judges of the inaugural prize, shared that the initiative was a “once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I gained perspective, and insight into the person I want to be.”
“Serving as an incarcerated judge for the inaugural Inside Literary Prize was a highlight of 23 years behind the wall,” writes Phillip Smith, another participant in North Carolina. “It gave me an opportunity to view books as much more than a reader; it taught me to peel back the layers of each work and to appreciate the story, whether I liked it or not. It was a lesson in critical thinking that helped me analyze each facet of the tale. I wasn’t just reading about a foreign walk of life. I was living it.”
“We are thrilled to once again join hands with our partner organizations and those who live and work in our jails and prisons to announce the shortlist for the Inside Literary Prize,” said our CEO Courtney Bryan. “The 2025 prize builds on last year’s wave of enthusiasm among the public, literary community, and the hundreds of incarcerated individuals who contributed as judges, readers, and participants in discussions and readings. In its second year, the Prize goes from an inaugural event to a tradition, one inspired by the dignity, intelligence, and insights of people who are incarcerated, serving as a reminder of our shared humanity and the power of literature to connect.”