Penal Press Association
What if the Washington Post and the New York Times had no idea the other existed? What if they operated in a silo, with no knowledge of what the other was publishing and no opportunities for collaboration or competition? Pretty bleak, right?
This is the reality for prison publications across the nation. But we’re determined to change that. Find out how below:
American Penal Press Contest
When it first ran in the 1960s, the American Penal Press Contest was widely considered the “Pulitzer Prize behind bars.” The contest was open to prison publications nationwide and gave prison journalists something to work towards.
“[T]he contest validated the efforts of mostly self-taught writers,” former editor Wilbert Rideau explained in The Nation in 2014. Rideau, the U.S.’s most decorated prison journalist, edited Louisiana State Penitentiary’s magazine, The Angolite, for more than 20 years starting in the mid-1970s.
“[The contest also] brought new awareness of prison issues to the outside world at a time when the public still viewed prisoners as redeemable and prisons as places not only for punishment but also for rehabilitation,” Rideau wrote.
Despite its prominence, a wave of tough-on-crime policies and a growing intolerance for prison journalism led many publications to shutter in the 1980s. The contest went with them.
Thirty years later, the prison media landscape is once again flourishing. So Pollen Initiative, in partnership with contest founder Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, thought it only right to bring the contest back too.
In its first year back, the American Penal Press Contest garnered over 170 submissions from 21 prison publications across nine states.
The Penal Press Landscape
By The Numbers:
Penal Press Association
The American Penal Press Contest revealed the vast landscape of prison media that exists throughout the nation. But apart from the contest, there is no way for them to connect and collaborate across prison walls. That’s why we created the Penal Press Association
The Penal Press Association (PPA) exists to strengthen, connect, and elevate incarcerated journalists and prison newsrooms across the United States and abroad.
Our mission is to empower incarcerated writers, editors, and media producers to practice ethical, independent, and socially responsible journalism that informs communities, amplifies lived experience, and contributes to public understanding and institutional accountability.
Through professional standards, mentorship, training, and collaboration, PPA fosters a culture of excellence in prison journalism—rooted in dignity, accuracy, and civic engagement.
Founders
Brian Beals
Brian Beals is the founder and executive director of Mud Theatre Project in Chicago. He was exonerated after 32 years of incarceration. While incarcerated he served as editor of some of Illinois historic prison newspapers before they were shutdown. He is deeply invested in the community he serves inside of the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Lt. Guim'Mara Berry
Lt. Guim'Mara Berry is the Public Information Officer at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, home of the award-winning, and most widely distributed, San Quentin News. Lt. Berry oversees the biggest prison media center in the country with the most incarcerated-led multimedia productions ever. She has been instrumental in standardizing the codifying the operational procedures and standardizing the process for multimedia productions in the carceral setting.
Amber Bray
Amber Bray is the editor in chief of the CCWF Paper Trail, the first widely distributed women's prison newspaper in the country from the first women's media center at the Central California Women's Facility. Amber has 30 years of institutional knowledge, a paralegal degree and a few prison journalism awards for her work with the CCWF Paper Trail.
Grace Coleman
Grace Coleman is a creative writer focused on personal transformation, wellness, and recovery. Through honest and reflective storytelling, she explores healing, accountability, and hope while encouraging positive change for women impacted by incarceration. Writing serves as both her creative outlet and a tool for empowerment, allowing her to share stories rooted in growth, resilience, and renewal.
Paul Gordon
Paul Gordon is the most recent editor in chief reviving Rush City Correctional's newspaper. Paul was a staff writer and editor at The Prison Mirror before his transfer last year to Rush City due to Stillwater Correctional's imminent closure. Paul has been involved in managing a prison newspaper for almost a decade and has institutional knowledge about how to produce a publication with limited resources and old technology.
Kate McQueen
Kate McQueen has written the most relevant and timely articles on the history of the prison press in the past 10 years. She has taught journalism and volunteers in prisons for close to two decades. She is the driving force behind first women's media center in the country at the Central California Women's Facility.
Melissa Munn
Dr. Melissa Munn is a leading scholar of Canada’s penal press and co‑author of Disruptive Prisoners, a study of its historical development. She is the creator and curator of www.penalpress.com, the most comprehensive archive of penal press materials, and an award‑winning prisoners’ rights advocate and activist.
Jesse Vasquez
Dr. Melissa Munn is a leading scholar of Canada’s penal press and co‑author of Disruptive Prisoners, a study of its historical development. She is the creator and curator of www.penalpress.com, the most comprehensive archive of penal press materials, and an award‑winning prisoners’ rights advocate and activist.
Steering Committee
John Corley, The Angolite- Louisiana DOC
Brian Beals is the founder and executive director of Mud Theatre Project in Chicago. He was exonerated after 32 years of incarceration. While incarcerated he served as editor of some of Illinois historic prison newspapers before they were shutdown. He is deeply invested in the community he serves inside of the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Roland Cardiel, Hard Climb Journal-CA DOC
Lt. Guim'Mara Berry is the Public Information Officer at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, home of the award-winning, and most widely distributed, San Quentin News. Lt. Berry oversees the biggest prison media center in the country with the most incarcerated-led multimedia productions ever. She has been instrumental in standardizing the codifying the operational procedures and standardizing the process for multimedia productions in the carceral setting.
Timothy Johnson, Nash News- NC DOC
Amber Bray is the editor in chief of the CCWF Paper Trail, the first widely distributed women's prison newspaper in the country from the first women's media center at the Central California Women's Facility. Amber has 30 years of institutional knowledge, a paralegal degree and a few prison journalism awards for her work with the CCWF Paper Trail.
Philip Luna, The Echo and 1664- OR
Grace Coleman is a creative writer focused on personal transformation, wellness, and recovery. Through honest and reflective storytelling, she explores healing, accountability, and hope while encouraging positive change for women impacted by incarceration. Writing serves as both her creative outlet and a tool for empowerment, allowing her to share stories rooted in growth, resilience, and renewal.
JoyBelle Phelan, CO
Paul Gordon is the most recent editor in chief reviving Rush City Correctional's newspaper. Paul was a staff writer and editor at The Prison Mirror before his transfer last year to Rush City due to Stillwater Correctional's imminent closure. Paul has been involved in managing a prison newspaper for almost a decade and has institutional knowledge about how to produce a publication with limited resources and old technology.
Robert Piraino, The Mountain Review, Tennessee DOC
Kate McQueen has written the most relevant and timely articles on the history of the prison press in the past 10 years. She has taught journalism and volunteers in prisons for close to two decades. She is the driving force behind first women's media center in the country at the Central California Women's Facility.
Sam Robinson, former PIO CDCR
Dr. Melissa Munn is a leading scholar of Canada’s penal press and co‑author of Disruptive Prisoners, a study of its historical development. She is the creator and curator of www.penalpress.com, the most comprehensive archive of penal press materials, and an award‑winning prisoners’ rights advocate and activist.
Robert Taliaferro, The Prison Mirror, MN
Robert E. Taliaferro, Jr. served over 38 years of incarceration. He is an EdD candidate at St. Cloud State University, holds two master's degrees, and is a national advocate for education and the humanities in addressing mass incarceration. Robert is a U.S. Army veteran, an author, and an award-winning artist and editor.
Thank you for your support
Pollen Initiative is spreading the hope by equipping and empowering prison media centers nationwide. Whether we’re building them from the ground up or bolstering existing publications, our goal is to expand prison journalism to as many incarcerated individuals as possible. With your help, we can continue to incubate media centers across the nation, giving incarcerated people news they can use and contributing to a more balanced narrative around incarceration.