Writing Freedom Fellowship
About the Program
Writing Freedom aims to recognize and elevate the vital artistic and cultural contributions of system-impacted poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers.
On this page:
Background
The Writing Freedom Fellowship recognizes talented emerging and established poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers impacted by the criminal legal system.
In its inaugural year, twenty fellows are supported with opportunities for mentorship, professional development, and shared learning, and a no-strings-attached monetary award.
More than two million people are imprisoned in the United States at any given time. Beyond prison and jail, the long tentacles of the carceral state impact millions more, through the border regime, policing and probation, family policing, and involuntary commitment.
Carceral institutions leave a profound impact not only on those who experience imprisonment but also on their families and communities. These systems disproportionately harm communities of color and those living in poverty, and they foster environments of isolation, dehumanization, and social stigma.
“Our understanding of American life is incomplete without voices that represent the experience and perspective of the millions of system-impacted people who live and work alongside us every day,” writes Tayari Jones, Writing Freedom advisory board member.
The Writing Freedom Fellowship aims to support and elevate the work of system-impacted writers and to help imagine a world beyond the criminal legal system’s punishing grasp.
The fellowship has been developed in partnership with the Mellon Foundation and the Art for Justice Fund, and in close consultation with an advisory board of established writers and advocates committed to supporting system-impacted individuals.
Program Details
Developed and administered by Haymarket Books in close partnership with the Mellon Foundation and the Art for Justice Fund, the Writing Freedom Fellowship aims to elevate the essential literary voices and contributions of poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers impacted by the criminal legal system. In its inaugural year, the fellowship offers crucial support to twenty emerging and established writers, recognizing them for their notable and necessary work.
The harms of the carceral state and its impacts are sprawling, fostering environments of isolation, dehumanization, and social stigma. The Writing Freedom Fellowship is just one effort to counteract this overwhelming atmosphere of punishment and oppression for the writers we are able to support. The Fellowship aims to foster creative practice, provide material support, encourage community, and foreground the essential voices of system-impacted writers.
We use the term “system-impacted” in a broad sense, and with an understanding that the reach of carceral systems is wide and extends beyond formal imprisonment in prisons, jails, and detention centers to parole, probation, policing, and criminalization, as well as to the border regime, the family policing system, and involuntary commitment. The impact extends to family of origin and chosen family who live their lives on the perimeter of punitive carceral institutions.
Writing Freedom was designed and developed thanks to the insight and support of dozens of writers, advocates, and fellow arts administrators who have deep knowledge of and experience navigating the criminal legal system.
In 2023, Writing Freedom Fellows were selected by Haymarket Books based on nominations from a diverse group of writers and advocates who were invited to serve in this capacity given their record of working with system-impacted writers and their own relationships with carceral systems.
All nominations included a writing sample and answers to questions about each writer’s body of work. Nominations were read and evaluated by a team of readers. A group of finalists were selected. Finalists were invited to share the vision behind their work. From that group of finalists, members of the fellowship’s advisory board were asked to recommend writers for the fellowship. Those recommendations played a major role in the final decision, made by Haymarket Books.
On principle, we did not use this process to inquire into, adjudicate, or evaluate a person’s conviction(s) or the extent of harm any one person has caused.
This spring, the Writing Freedom administrators and advisory board will re-evaluate the process in anticipation of Year Two, taking into account feedback we have received. We will update this site accordingly.
Writing Freedom Fellows receive monetary support as well as opportunities for mentorship and professional development.
In its inaugural year, Writing Freedom Fellows were selected based on nominations by a diverse group of writers and advocates. Nominators were identified and invited to serve in this capacity. With that in mind, there was no open application process for Writing Freedom.
While not open for applications, the Writing Freedom administrators and the advisory board will re-evaluate the process in anticipation of Year Two. We will update this website as necessary.