The second annual Prize, judged by 300 incarcerated readers across 12 prisons, was awarded at a ceremony at The New York Public Library.
Last night, Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was awarded the 2025 Inside Literary Prize—the first major US book award judged exclusively by incarcerated readers.
300 people incarcerated in six states and territories across the country voted on a winning book after weeks of reading and deliberation. The Inside Literary Prize—launched last year by Freedom Reads in collaboration with the Center, the National Book Foundation, and literary podcaster and Interabang Books co-owner Lori Feathers—breaks down walls in our cultural conversations and celebrates the humanity and insight of readers in prison.
Literature gave me life again.
The inaugural 2024 Prize was awarded last summer to South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry. Last night’s ceremony, held at the New York Public Library, was emceed by Freedom Reads Founder and CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts. Other speakers—including the four shortlisted authors, representatives from partner organizations, and this year’s judges (via video)—shared reflections on the power of literature to build connections and what it means to be a reader on the inside.
“There is no question that this is the highest possible honor a book like this could ever receive,” said Adjei-Brenyah, winner of this year’s Prize. “I take it to mean those who judged believed I was not careless or callous, that I used language in a way that felt like truth. This retroactive mandate is a gift I can never repay, but one I will forever be grateful for. I want to thank all those inside, those who judged and those who did not. This award is dedicated to you all.”
The event also featured remarks from special guest Lyndie Felsher, who was a judge for the inaugural Inside Literary Prize in 2024. “Reading brought me something invaluable—a community. For the first time in too long, I connected with women who shared my passion,” Felsher said. “We laughed, debated, and bonded over stories that made our hearts beat with purpose again. Together, through literature, we found strength and unity in the most unlikely of places. Tonight, I stand here free, not just from physical confines, but from the isolation that once defined me. Literature gave me life again.”
“I love it because it literally transports you into another world. And not only that, but you get to see the opinions and the ideas of other people, especially the author,” said Rolando, a 2025 Inside Literary Prize judge at Western Illinois Correctional Center. “And for me, it expands my mind. For me, not only does it transport me, but I get to learn more of the world. I get to learn of other cultures, of other people, and that, for me, is special, because it just opens up, just a new dimension.”
The shortlist for the 2025 Inside Literary Prize included Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah; This Other Eden by Paul Harding; On a Woman’s Madness by Astrid Roemer, translated from the Dutch by Lucy Scott; and Blackouts by Justin Torres. The books were selected by a committee made up of incarcerated readers, writers, and Departments of Corrections librarians, who chose from the list of Finalists for the 2023 National Book Awards for Fiction and Translated Literature.
Incarcerated people from 12 prisons in six states and territories—California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Puerto Rico—received the shortlisted books to read and consider. Freedom Reads led an Inside Literary Prize tour, where teams from the sponsoring organizations visited the prisons and held conversations with readers inside before they cast their votes on a winning book.
You can listen to podcast interviews with all four shortlisted authors here.