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Created in 2023, the Inside Literary Prize is a national honor awarded annually by a jury of hundreds of incarcerated readers, founded by Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, the Center for Justice Innovation, and Interabang Books co-owner Lori Feathers
NEW YORK, NY (August 20, 2026) — The Inside Literary Prize, the first and only US-based literary award judged exclusively by incarcerated people, today was awarded to The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain, and Finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature.
The Inside Literary Prize celebrates the power of literature by amplifying the insight, humanity, and voices of readers living in prison confinement. This year, nearly 200 incarcerated judges participated in the selection process, with over 1,650 books distributed across eleven correctional facilities in Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington. Over the prize’s three years, more than 575 incarcerated readers in 35 prisons across 15 states and Puerto Rico have participated in the judging process. This year, through group discussions and reflection, participants explored five 2024 National Book Award Finalists in Fiction and Translated Literature and selected The Book Censor’s Library as the recipient of the 2026 Prize.
Set in a dystopian future in an unspecified country, The Book Censor’s Library explores how authoritarian regimes shrink imagination by policing stories. In a labyrinth of archives, a censor begins to doubt the purpose of banning “dangerous” books, while discovering how even a single redaction can spark quiet rebellion. When language becomes both a weapon and refuge, the forbidden proves unforgettable.
“I think The Book Censor’s Library is what the world needs most. Without a core of literature, all voices are lost. If we don’t protect our right to choose what matters, history will be rewritten. No one single power should get to choose. Cultural exchange, perspective, and the fostering of ideas will all be stifled without full access to literature,” shared Kyra L., 2026 Inside Literary prize judge at Washington Corrections Center for Women.
Launched in 2023 by Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, and the Center for Justice Innovation, with support from Interabang Books co-owner Lori Feathers, the Inside Literary Prize honors the perspectives incarcerated readers bring to contemporary literature and centers voices too often excluded from cultural conversations. Previous Inside Literary Prize honorees include South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry (Winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction) and Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Finalist of the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction).
“Books have the power to connect us across walls and circumstances,” said Reginald Dwayne Betts, Freedom Reads Founder & CEO. “The Inside Literary Prize brings incarcerated readers into the heart of our literary conversation, reminding us that when we include more voices in conversations about great books, we remind ourselves of literature’s purpose and possibility to bring transformation and hope to people’s lives.”
Each year, incarcerated judges read a shortlist of National Book Award–honored titles curated by a selection committee of incarcerated readers, writers, and Department of Corrections librarians. Finalists for this year’s honor were:
Kaveh Akbar, Martyr!
Knopf / Penguin Random House
Bothayna Al-Essa, The Book Censor’s Library
Translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain
Restless Books
Linnea Axelsson, Ædnan
Translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel
Knopf / Penguin Random House
Miranda July, All Fours
Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House
Hisham Matar, My Friends
Random House / Penguin Random House
Throughout this year’s judging process, incarcerated voters met with previous National Book Award honorees and Inside Literary Prize finalists including Roger Reeves, Paul Harding, Jamil Jan Kochai, and 2025 Prize winner Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
On Thursday, September 3, 2026, the Inside Literary Prize will be presented at The New York Public Library, with the celebration emceed by incarcerated judges through recorded video messages. The event reaffirms Freedom Reads’ broader mission to transform prison spaces through the power of literature. To date, the organization has built nearly 700 Freedom Libraries and delivered more than 280,000 books to readers in prisons across the United States, creating spaces of hope, belonging, and freedom behind prison walls.
Photos courtesy of Freedom Reads
