Biography
Carla J. Simmons (she/her) is a creative nonfiction author who has been incarcerated in the American South since 2004. Serving a life sentence in prison in the state of Georgia has informed her work which focuses on social justice, health, and humanity. She critically examines the roles of imperialism, capitalism, racism, poverty, and class in the carceral system that fosters violence, addiction, and trauma from a strong commitment to absolution and change.
Her journalistic work has been featured in Lux magazine, Prism, and the Appeal. She is currently completing a memoir. Carla has been nominated for the 2024 Stillwater Award for the connections she made between prisons in America and the war on Palestine. She is a member of the Justice Arts Coalition and Empowerment Avenue, which aims to amplify voices from inside and works as a newspaper editor, a Compassion and Integrity Training (CIT) facilitator, and is a member of the domestic violence committee within her community in hopes of putting the work towards justice into action. She holds an associates degree in positive human development and social change from Life University.
