Last week, The American Penal Press Contest — a reboot of an older prison journalism award — returned for its second year. 

This year, San Quentin News — which took home Best Newspaper again — learned of their win side-by-side with outside supporters at a brand new auditorium at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Twelve other prison newsrooms from across the country were also present virtually.

The original American Annual Penal Press Contest, organized by the journalism department at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale,  was a celebration of the growing importance and high activity level of prison journalism.  It ran from 1965 to 1990 and during its strongest years received more than 1,000 submissions per year, according to the contest website.

Over the years, the number of prison publications would dwindle before a recent comeback led in part by San Quentin News. At least 37 prison publications are operating in 16 states, according to the website.

Other winners include:

• Mountain Review in Tennessee (Best Newsletter)
• Inside the Walls in North Carolina (Best Debut Publication)
• John L. Orr of Mule Creek Post (Newsroom Leader of the Year, who the contest notes “leads by example with exceptional writing, but is also deeply valued for his calm demeanor, confidence, and the ability to multitask”) 
• Berit Thorson of the Echo (Advisor of the Year)
• Nora Igova of Central California Women’s Facility (Woman Prison Journalist of the Year). “Nora’s stuff just stuck with me…She found something happening inside that most people outside would never even know existed,” according to one judge, “and the story actually got people inside talking about their own behavior.”  

Find the full list of winners here.

The name “MindSite News” is used with the express permission of Mindsight Institute, an educational organization offering online learning and in-person workshops in the field of mental health and wellbeing. MindSite News and Mindsight Institute are separate, unaffiliated entities that are aligned in making science accessible and promoting mental health globally.

Republish This Story

Close window

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Return of Prison Journalism

by Josh McGhee, MindSite News
September 29, 2026

<h1>The Return of Prison Journalism</h1> <p class="byline">by Josh McGhee, MindSite News <br />September 29, 2026</p> </p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://dl3wjxrn8qv3a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/29063831/notebookjan-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-18156" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Jan Kahánek/Unsplash</figcaption></figure> <p>Last week, The American Penal Press Contest — a reboot of an older prison journalism award — returned for its second year.&nbsp;</p> <p>This year, San Quentin News — which took home Best Newspaper again — learned of their win side-by-side with outside supporters at a brand new auditorium at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Twelve other prison newsrooms from across the country were also present virtually.</p> <p>The original <a href="https://americanpenalpresscontest.org/a-brief-history-of-the-american-penal-press-contest/">American Annual Penal Press Contest</a>, organized by the journalism department at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale,&nbsp; was a celebration of the growing importance and high activity level of prison journalism.&nbsp; It ran from 1965 to 1990 and during its strongest years received more than 1,000 submissions per year, according to the contest website.</p> <p>Over the years, the number of prison publications would dwindle before a recent comeback led in part by San Quentin News. At least 37 prison publications are operating in 16 states, according to the website.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other winners include:</h2> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://americanpenalpresscontest.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MountainReview_Vol-34-No-3_Winter-2025-full-issue-1.pdf">Mountain Review in Tennessee</a> (Best Newsletter)</li> <li><a href="https://americanpenalpresscontest.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Inside-The-Walls-April-25.pdf">Inside the Walls in North Carolina</a> (Best Debut Publication)</li> <li>John L. Orr of Mule Creek Post (Newsroom Leader of the Year, who the contest notes “leads by example with exceptional writing, but is also deeply valued for his calm demeanor, confidence, and the ability to multitask”) </li> <li>Berit Thorson of the Echo (Advisor of the Year)</li> <li>Nora Igova of Central California Women’s Facility (Woman Prison Journalist of the Year). “Nora’s stuff just stuck with me…She found something happening inside that most people outside would never even know existed,” according to one judge, “and the story actually got people inside talking about their own behavior.”  </li> </ul> <p>Find the full list of winners <a href="https://americanpenalpresscontest.org/2026-winners/">here</a>.</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mindsitenews.org/2026/09/29/prison-journalism-american-penal-press-contest/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mindsitenews.org&quot;&gt;MindSite News&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mindsitenews.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=18155&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;

Copy to Clipboard

1