2025 Inside Literary Prize Winner – Locus Online

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Vintage) has won the second annual Inside Literary Prize, which was celebrated at a ceremony held at The New York Public Library.

The Inside Literary Prize, launched in 2024 by Freedom Reads, is “the first-ever US-based literary prize awarded exclusively by currently incarcerated people.” The winner was selected by a jury of 300 incarcerated individuals from 12 prisons across six states and territories. During the judging period, reading initiatives and events took 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, including the full previously covered shortlist, see the official announcement.

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