Pollen Initiative and Southern Illinois University Carbondale to Relaunch Historic American Penal Press Contest

Contest celebrates achievements by incarcerated newsrooms across the U.S.

Winners to be announced on September 19 at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center

Pollen Initiative, a non-profit organization for award-winning prison journalism and filmmaking rehabilitative programs in the United States, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) announced today the relaunch of the American Penal Press Contest.

Founded in 1965 by SIU’s School of Journalism, alongside renowned Professor Charles C. Clayton, the American Penal Press Contest was a national awards competition that celebrated excellence in incarcerated journalism. Intended to honor the journalistic efforts of incarcerated writers, the national competition showcased the public new kinds of prison coverage. By the 1970s – the height of the contest’s popularity – it attracted more than a thousand submissions a year. Before the contest ended in 1991, it was widely known as the “Pulitzer Prize behind bars.”

Despite the contest’s celebrated success for several decades, a growing emphasis on law-and-order policies and rising prison populations in the 1980s meant a reduction in funding for, and tolerance of, prison newspapers. As a result, incarcerated journalism stalled all around the country, and with it, the contest.

Modeled after the tradition of the original awards, the revived American Penal Press Contest celebrates ambitious achievements by incarcerated newsrooms across the U.S. The award aims to strengthen the penal press corps by shining a light on the caliber of their reporting, providing important professional feedback, encouraging healthy competition between publications and building common ground between the incarcerated press and the outside journalism industry.

“We are thrilled to be reviving this contest, which has played such a pivotal role in the growth of incarcerated journalism, and its reach to the outside world,” said Kate McQueen, Editorial Director of the Pollen Initiative. “We look forward to renewing this historic tradition and continuing to scale feedback across prison newsrooms to build a sense of common ground with the industry outside.”

The contest will award prizes in 13 categories, including awards for individual stories as well as for individual publications, writers, newsroom leaders and advisors. The contest includes categories for best newspaper, magazine, and newsletter, as well as individual awards for various journalistic genres like news, feature stories and editorials. There are no fees to submit for the awards.

“With the prison newspaper landscape slowly repopulating, now is the time is right to bring back the American Penal Press Contest,” said Jesse Carson, Editor-in-Chief of the Mule Creek Post at Mule Creek State Prison in California. “The contest will be an important catalyst and supporter of this continued mission to elevate and honor exceptional prison journalism.”

Winners will be announced during a closed award ceremony on September 19 at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in San Quentin, California.

“It is with great enthusiasm that we bring this contest back to life, in partnership with Pollen Initiative, and with the help of many valued advisors and judges,” said Jan Thompson, Director and Professor of the School of Journalism and Advertising at SIU. “We are eager to shepherd this relaunch into the 21^st century, and beyond.”

In addition to the Pollen Initiative and SIU, additional partners and sponsors of the event include Reva and David Logan Foundation, Harry D. Forsyth Foundation and California Press Foundation.

For more information about the contest, eligibility rules and entrance instructions, please visit https://americanpenalpresscontest.org/.

About Pollen Initiative

The Pollen Initiative is a non-profit organization for award-winning prison journalism and filmmaking rehabilitative programs in the United States. These programs run by the incarcerated are powerful tools that provide an authentic window into the lives of those currently or formerly in prison. We work to train and empower incarcerated individuals with the journalism skills necessary to share stories that underpin social change, inform policy and strengthen communities. By harnessing the power of these tools, we aim to break down stigmas surrounding incarceration, foster rehabilitation and facilitate successful reentry.

About Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a doctoral research university, designated Research 1 in the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education. It has several colleges, a School of Law and a School of Medicine. With a beautiful campus that includes a lake, a forest, university-owned farms and world-class facilities, the university offers unique opportunities such as undergraduate research often reserved for graduate students elsewhere.

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