If “prison” were a city, it would be the fifth-largest in the United States—a city in which every current crisis, from the pandemic, to wage inequality, to climate change, plays out at an accelerated rate. But you wouldn’t know that from the nightly news.

With The Press in Prison, Scalawag—a journalism and storytelling organization that works in solidarity with oppressed communities in the South—aims to fill this gap by equipping media makers with information on how to work with writers on the inside.

Featuring insights from incarcerated writers Christopher Blackwell, Lyle C. May, Jessica Sylva, and more, The Press in Prison guidebook is a resource for reporters, editors, media-makers, and allies who want to use their power to amplify stories from behind bars.

Producing journalism that accurately and responsibly represents the incarcerated population requires new modes of recruiting, editing, and thinking. In this new resource, contributors on both sides of the prison wall share tips and shed light on what doesn’t work.

First presented last winter as part of a virtual workshop, Haymarket and Scalawag have teamed up to print the Press in Prison guidebook in full within prison mailing guidelines for easy reference by conscientious readers, independent journalists, newsrooms, classrooms, or anyone interested in launching a career in writing from prison.

To create a more just world, we must shift the stories we tell and who tells them: Order your copy of The Press in Prison today!