Established in the aftermath of the Attica Prison Riots in the mid-1970s, the PEN Prison Writing Awards recognize the exceptional voices of incarcerated writers in the United States working within the genres of poetry, fiction, essay, memoir, and drama. With the help of the PEN America Prison Writing Committee, prizes of $300, $200, $150, and $75 are awarded for first place, second place, third place and honorable mentions in each genre. Winners were also recognized in two special award categories: the Bell Chevigny Award in Women’s Nonfiction, and the Fielding A. Dawson Award in honor of promising works. Both special awards are named in commemoration of former committee members.
The winning entries will be published in an anthology series of work honored by the PEN Prison Writing Awards, which can be ordered here.
Poetry
First Place
Ken Meyers, “Caldo Verde”
Second Place
John Corley, “Kaleidoscope”
Third Place
Michael Dewayne McCoy, “Hot Shot”
Honorable Mentions
Alex Friedman, “Glitch”
Geneva Phillips, “Terminus”
Chris Presfield, “Prisoner on AER”
Fiction
First Place
Lawson Strickland, “Wait”
Second Place
Robert Hitt, “Courage”
Third Place
J.D. Frandsen, “Sanctuary Hill”
Honorable Mentions
Linda T. Henning, “The Power of the Spork”
Cody Reno, “Drunken Goatman”
Matthew Feeney, “The Journal”
Essay
First Place
Ken Meyers, “Accusation Unfounded: The Promise of PREA, the Reality of Rape”
Second Place
Peter Nathaniel Malae, “The D.O.C.-M.F.A.”
Third Place
Victor Chunga, “Am I Sober?”
Honorable Mentions
Jeanne Bossier, “An Artist in Prison”
John Corley, “Servitude”
Kenneth Andrus, “The Difference”
Memoir
First Place
Edward Ji, “I Am Prepared to Die”
Second Place
Elizabeth Hawes, “Eulogy”
Third Place
Donald Hoyt, “Scars of a Soul” (Donald Hoyt)
Honorable Mentions
Albert Ramos, “Bed Rolls”
David Morrison, “The 600-Pound Prisoner”
Paula Grieve, “84 Days and Counting: The Plight of the Flightless”
Drama
First Place
Sara G. Kielly, “Burn Book”
Second Place
Peter Nathaniel Malae, “The Question”
Third Place
Aaron Flaherty, “Unpromised”
Honorable Mentions
John Quanrude, “The Hanging Game”
Tray “Deuce” Robinson, “Urban Kingdom: For the Love of Money”
Derek R. Trumbo, Sr., “A Damn Fine Story”
Special Awards
Bell Chevigny Award in Women’s Nonfiction
Pamela A. Smart, “Defiant Hope: Breathing Life into Carceral Death”
Fielding Dawson Prize
R. “Ya’iyr” Carter, “Pork Ribs” (Poetry)
Jason Ray Bouchard, “Daddy’s Little Girl” (Fiction)
Michelle McCutchan, “State of Dormancy” (Nonfiction)
Joshua Daniel Peterson, “An Infernal Dialogue: Act 2” (Drama)
