Prison Journalism Project

PJP is a fast-growing independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization that aims to develop a national network of prison correspondents. We believe that the deep reforms that are necessary to fix the U.S. criminal justice system can only happen through informed, bipartisan public discourse about mass incarceration. Incarcerated people, who are talked about but are rarely heard from, must be a part of this conversation. Intentional, responsible and well-crafted journalism from within the incarcerated community can also break stereotypes, and provide timely information about conditions inside America’s many prisons. 

PJP’s online magazine launched in June 2020 to publish incarcerated writers’ experiences with the pandemic, but since then, we have expanded to cover the gamut of stories from issues around mental health and addiction to stories and experiences of life behind bars to op-eds and other perspectives. We also publish poetry and art with an emphasis on those that tell true stories. We have so far published over 1,100 pieces of work from more than 410 incarcerated and incarceration-impacted writers from 160+ prisons in 37 states and D.C. The publication is a place to experiment with how to tell stories from behind and around prison walls. We also work within the media industry to help advance journalism from prison.

PJP is rooted in training and education to create sophisticated observers, reporters and journalists, who can tell stories that resonate with mainstream readers. PJP J-School, the first journalism school of its kind, trains incarcerated writers in the tools of journalism, primarily through a correspondence-based curriculum.