Today, the Inside Literary Prize, the US’s only literary prize judged by incarcerated readers, announced its 2026 winner: The Book Censor’s Library, by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain.
The Inside Literary Prize, which was founded in 2023 by Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, the Center for Justice Innovation, and Interabang Books co-owner Lori Feathers, “celebrates the power of literature by amplifying the insight, humanity, and voices of readers living in prison confinement.”
Each year, the prize curates a shortlist of books previously honored by the National Book Foundation, and sends them to prisons across the country. This year, almost 200 incarcerated judges considered five 2024 National Book Award finalists in Fiction and Translated Literature, and chose The Book Censor’s Library as the winner. (The other finalists were Ædnan by Linnea Axelsson translated by Saskia Vogel, All Fours by Miranda July, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, and My Friends by Hisham Matar.)
“I think The Book Censor’s Library is what the world needs most,” said Kyra L., a judge at Washington Corrections Center for Women, in a statement. “Without a core of literature, all voices are lost. If we don’t protect our right to choose what matters, history will be rewritten. No one single power should get to choose. Cultural exchange, perspective, and the fostering of ideas will all be stifled without full access to literature.”
“Books have the power to connect us across walls and circumstances,” added Reginald Dwayne Betts, Freedom Reads Founder & CEO. “The Inside Literary Prize brings incarcerated readers into the heart of our literary conversation, reminding us that when we include more voices in conversations about great books, we remind ourselves of literature’s purpose and possibility to bring transformation and hope to people’s lives.”