Resources for Prisoners
Prisoners can have an especially tough time getting their books to market. Just getting an editable version of your manuscript past the prison walls can be a challenge, since JPay doesn’t allow users to attach documents to emails.
But don’t despair! Resources exist to help you get your story out.
Authors Inside
Authors Inside publishes books written by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated authors to inspire Hope, Healing, Reform, and to Reduce Recidivism.
From their website:
Our goal is to publish stories written by talented incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons. We believe writing is a form of healing and inspires hope for the writer and those who will be impacted by their stories.
Through the publishing of behavior-specific curriculums we hope to reach, teach and educate the at-risk youth and the community on reform and provide a solution that will reduce recidivism.
Pen America
From the Pen America website:
For more than four decades, PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing program has amplified the work of thousands of writers who are creating while incarcerated in the United States. By providing resources, mentorship, and audiences outside the walls, we help these writers to join and enrich the broader literary community. Committed to the freedom to write in U.S. prisons as a critical free expression issue of our time, we leverage the transformative possibilities of writing to raise public consciousness about the societal implications of mass incarceration and support the development of justice-involved literary talent.