Shakopee inmates vote for book award decided only by incarcerated readers

Reading books can be a great escape, and that's ringing true at a Shakopee Prison, where inmates are voting on the next book the country should read.

Created by Freedom Reads, a nonprofit organization in Connecticut, the Inside Literary Prize is the first major U.S. book award decided exclusively by incarcerated readers. The project started in 2023.

"They read five books that come from the National Book Award," said David Perez Dehoyos from Freedom Reads. "Translated fiction and fiction. At the end of it all, we're gonna vote for which book the world deserves to read."

Hundreds of incarcerated individuals from prisons across the country fill out the judging forms after thorough discussion amongst their peers.

"It's a type of escapism, 'cause I can get into a book and everything around me disappears," said Darlene Wind.

The goal is to bring contemporary, thought-provoking literature into correctional facilities, giving the incarcerated population a voice in the national cultural conversation. Besides the contest, Freedom Reads wants to install prison libraries with 500 paperback books each.

"Our goal is to put one of these Freedom Reads libraries in every prison within every housing unit in every prison in America," said Craig Gore with Freedom Reads.

Gore says they've already installed about 700 libraries in 17 states. Eight libraries are being installed in the Shakopee prison.

The winning book will be revealed in August.