On Aug. 1, the inaugural Inside Literary Prize, the first major U.S. book award judged exclusively by incarcerated individuals, will be awarded at The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
The private event will be emceed by Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts.
The prize was launched in December 2023 by Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation and the Center for Justice Innovation. The initiative aims to expand access to literature for incarcerated people and is supported by literary podcaster and Interabang Books co-owner Lori Feathers.
More than 200 incarcerated individuals from 12 prisons across six states participated as judges. The shortlisted titles are “The Rabbit Hutch” by Tess Gunty, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and “Other Stories” by Jamil Jan Kochai, “South to America” by Imani Perry, and “Best Barbarian” by Roger Reeves. These titles were selected from the 2022 National Book Awards finalists by a committee of incarcerated readers and librarians.
The award ceremony will be held on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, at The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
