2025 Inside Literary Prize Shortlist

The shortlist has been announced for the second annual Inside Literary Prize. Among the four titles selected is dystopian novel Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Vintage).

The Inside Literary Prize is “the first-ever US-based literary prize awarded exclusively by currently incarcerated people,” and the four shortlisted titles were selected by a committee of incarcerated readers, writers, and librarians from Departments of Corrections. Selections were made from books already on the list of Finalists for the 2023 National Book Award. The Prize shortlist was announced jointly by Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, and the Center for Justice Innovation.

The winner (to be announced in June 2025) will be selected by a jury of 300 incarcerated individuals, from 12 prisons across six states and territories. During the judging period, reading initiatives and events will take place across the country:

Freedom Reads also will provide each facility with additional sets of each book for general circulation in the facility library, as well as for correctional staff. After a several-week period dedicated to the reading of the titles, Inside Literary Prize organizers will travel this spring to each prison to lead live discussions, conduct voting, and host literary readings with acclaimed authors.

Freedom Reads is an organization that “supports the efforts of people in prison to transform their lives through increased access to books and writers.” For more information, see the Freedom Reads website.

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