Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize
By
Truthout is proud to launch the Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize.
This prize will go to a formerly incarcerated person for an essay of 1,500 words or less on the topic of prisons, policing or a related subject. It may be written as a first-person narrative (although that is not a requirement). Two winners will be chosen and awarded a prize of $3,000 each. The essays will be published on
Truthout.
This prize is in honor of Keeley Schenwar, who was a devoted mother, daughter, sister, friend, writer and advocate for incarcerated mothers. Keeley was incarcerated, on and off, over the course of 14 years. She wrote often, both poetry and prose, particularly focusing on her experiences of incarceration and addiction. Keeley spoke out publicly about the inhumanity of the U.S. prison system and wrote about her own experience of incarceration. She wrote this essay about giving birth while incarcerated, and the brutality of being separated from