Inside Literary Prize
The Inside Literary Prize is the first major US book award to be judged exclusively by people who are currently serving prison sentences.
A collaboration between Freedom Reads, the Center for Justice Innovation, the National Book Foundation, and Interabang Books co-owner Lori Feathers, the Inside Literary Prize gives currently incarcerated people across six states the opportunity to leave their mark on the cultural conversation by selecting a winner among four recent books. After visits to each prison to lead discussions with incarcerated people, facilitate the voting process, and host readings with award-winning authors, the jurors—women and men incarcerated in 12 different facilities—select their winner.
Inside Literary Prize was “a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I gained perspective and insight into the person I want to be.
— CRYSTAL “ALEX” CAPILLA
Member of the Inside Literary Prize 2025 Selection Committee and 2024 Judge
Serving as an incarcerated judge for the inaugural Inside Literary Prize was a highlight of 23 years behind the wall. 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.
— PHILLIP SMITH
Member of the Inside Literary Prize 2025 Selection Committee and 2024 Judge
2025 Shortlist
Shortlist for 2025 Inside Literary Prize
- Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars
Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House - Paul Harding, This Other Eden
W. Norton & Company - Astrid Roemer, On a Woman’s Madness
Translated from the Dutch by Lucy Scott
Two Lines Press - Justin Torres, Blackouts
Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers
Read the full press release.
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.
— COURTNEY BRYAN
Chief Executive Officer, Center for Justice Innovation
2024 Prize
On August 1, 2024, the inaugural Inside Literary Prize was awarded to South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry at a moving event held at the New York Public Library.
Past Media Coverage
- The First US Book Prize Judged Entirely by Incarcerated People Has Announced a Winner, LitHub
- Imani Perry Wins Inaugural Inside Literary Prize, Kirkus Reviews
- A New Literary Prize Taps a Jury Living Behind Bars, The New York Times
- First annual 'Inside Literary Prize' judged by incarcerated people, NY1
‘Freedom begins with a book’: incarcerated people to judge new US literary award, The Guardian
- A Dallas bookstore owner wanted to engage inmates in reading. A national book prize was the result, Kera News
2024 Nominations
The books nominated for the Prize—all National Book Award-honored books—were selected by a committee of incarcerated people, writers, and librarians with the Department of Corrections.
Tess Gunty, The Rabbit Hutch
Alfred A. Knopf / Penguin Random House
Jamil Jan Kochai, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories
Viking Books / Penguin Random House
Imani Perry, South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation
Ecco / HarperCollins Publishers
Roger Reeves, Best Barbarian
W. W. Norton & Company
Through the reading and judging of leading American literary works, the Inside Literary Prize competition will provide a national platform for incarcerated individuals to meaningfully participate in our shared national cultural conversation. Freedom begins with a book.
— REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS
Founder and CEO, Freedom Reads