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Writing for Liberation

Empowerment Avenue’s Writing for Liberation program is a community of skilled and insightful writers and journalists, who also happen to be incarcerated. At any given time, Empowerment Avenue supports over 40 writers in state prisons around the country.

Empowerment Avenue is not a publisher. Instead, we help writers build and pursue their freelance writing careers. We form the bridge that helps our writers to be included in the broader national media ecosystem, assisting our writers to get published and their voices heard. Our volunteer Editorial Council members collaborate with our writers to shepherd stories through the publication pipeline.

In 2024 alone, Empowerment Avenue writers earned over $473,000 from writing. Writers have published hundreds of articles, essays, op-eds and investigative reporting in dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald, The Appeal, and The Marshall Project. They have also won numerous awards and prestigious fellowships.

Empowerment Avenue writers also have access to resources beyond one-on-one volunteer support. We provide funding for supplies like stamps and books, send them outside media including news articles, newsletters and magazines, and connect them to editors and publishers seeking to work with incarcerated people.

*Writing for Liberation does not currently have an open application process. We recruit writers who have already begun publishing their work.