The Inside Literary Prize began when Lori Feathers, co-owner of Interabang Books in Dallas, floated the idea to a friend at the Center for Justice Innovation after reading an article about a similar award in France. With support from the Center, Freedom Reads, and the National Book Foundation, 300 incarcerated people will read and discuss each book before leaving their mark on the national conversation by deciding on a winner. The award is a much-needed acknowledgement, Feathers notes, that “people in prisons…are part of our humanity.”