First Book has contributed four hundred books for youth in Prison Writes workshops as well as to help seed libraries in youth’s residences and program locations. All of the contributed books are carefully selected for their appropriateness for youth involved in the criminal justice system. Books in the selection feature female and male protagonists and range from graphic novels, to fiction, fantasy, myths, short story and memoir. Titles include Phillip Pullman’s award winning The Golden Compass, a masterwork of storytelling and suspense. This young adult fantasy novel published by scholastic UK in 1995, is critically acclaimed and hailed as a modern fantasy classic. Jason Reynolds When I
With a grant from LIT, Prison Writes brings books, journals and writing workshops to youth held in d
With the generous support of a grant from Literacy for Incarcerated Teens (LIT)[1] Prison Writes workshops are being brought to youths living in group homes in Brooklyn under Administration of Children’s Services Close to Home program. “Launched in 2012, Close to Home allows youth who are deemed Juvenile Delinquents by the Family Court to be placed in residential programs closer to their families and communities. Under Close to Home, young people receive therapeutic services at small group homes in or near the five boroughs where they are close to resources that can support their treatment and transition back into their communities.”[2] I had the pleasure of co-facilitating the first two wor
