NEW YORK – PEN America has announced the winners of its 2025 Prison Writing Awards, honoring 33 incarcerated writers from 20 states for their work in poetry, fiction, essay, memoir, and drama. The awards remain one of the nation’s oldest and most respected programs supporting writers in prison, celebrating the transformative power of writing as both a creative and rehabilitative act.
This year’s competition drew hundreds of submissions from across the country, reflecting an extraordinary diversity of experience, voice, and style. For the first time in the program’s 50-year history, six formerly incarcerated writers served as judges, a milestone marking what PEN America described as a “turning point” in its ongoing effort to expand the reach and inclusivity of its Prison and Justice Writing Program.
Malcolm Tariq, director of the program, said in the press release, “Engaging with former winners for the first time as judges was an incredibly special moment for the Prison and Justice Writing Program. It allowed us to extend the life cycle of writers’ involvement in the program while also supporting their writing careers, even as they return home.” He added that the inclusion of formerly incarcerated writers in the judging process provided “a unique vantage point of understanding the conditions under which the submissions are created in prisons.”
The 2025 judging panel included 23 members of PEN America’s Prison Writing Committee and the six guest judges—Brian Beals, Joseph Dole, Justin Rovillos Monson, Jonathan Kirkland, Anika Aldamuy Denise, and Nicole Seale—who all have personal or professional ties to the program. The chairs of the judging committees were Ethan Bumas for drama, Katherine Hill for fiction, Grace Kearney for nonfiction, and Crystal Yeung for poetry.
The winners were selected across five literary categories: Poetry, Fiction, Essay, Memoir, and Drama. In total, 35 prizes were awarded, as two recipients earned honors in multiple categories. The winners received cash prizes, publication in PEN America’s annual anthology The Prison Writing Awards Anthology, and enrollment in the organization’s mentorship program, which pairs incarcerated writers with volunteer mentors across the literary and academic fields.
Among the honorees was Amanda Webber from Homestead, Florida, who earned first place in fiction for her story The Garden House. A former baker and teacher, Webber said the award has strengthened her resolve to use writing as a means to “help women prepare for reentry.”
Formerly incarcerated guest judge Brian Beals, who was released after spending 35 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, called the experience “a special part of my re-entry journey.” Beals said, “I hope my experience will inspire incarcerated creatives to see PEN America as a partner, not just a competition.”
Two special awards were also presented: the Fielding A. Dawson Award for Promising Works, which recognizes early-career prison writers demonstrating exceptional potential, and the Bell Chevigney Award for Women’s Nonfiction, honoring works that amplify women’s voices from within the carceral system.
Tariq said the awards embody the core mission of PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program, which for more than five decades has sought to challenge stereotypes about incarcerated people, expand access to education and creative outlets, and highlight the humanity behind the walls. “The program continues to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible,” he said.
Since its founding in 1971, the Prison Writing Program has provided thousands of incarcerated writers with mentorship, publication opportunities, and correspondence courses designed to cultivate literary skill and critical thought. Through these efforts, PEN America has helped bring national attention to the literary contributions of incarcerated individuals and the broader conversation about justice, rehabilitation, and the right to self-expression.
“Writing is not just a form of communication,” Tariq noted. “For people living behind bars, it’s a way to reclaim identity, process trauma, and imagine freedom.”
In highlighting the achievements of the 2025 winners, PEN America reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that creativity and free expression remain accessible to everyone, regardless of circumstance. The organization’s long-standing work within prisons continues to serve as both a lifeline for participants and a bridge connecting their voices to readers on the outside.
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