"As an incarcerated person, the food that prisons serve directly impacts my quality of life. Decades of research proves how processed meat can cause cancer and excessive sugar can lead to diabetes, yet we are served these foods in excess because they are cheap.” - PVS2 www.cspi.org/page/private...

From the fantastic @prisonjournalism.bsky.social weekly e-newsletter this week.

Join @freedom.press's Seth Stern in Chicago for "Bridging the Gap: Amplifying Incarcerated Voices," a conference about supporting incarcerated storytellers in the face of rising censorship. 🗓️ May 29-30 📍1901 W Carroll Ave, Chicago, IL 60612 RSVP: events.haymarketbooks.org/events/hayma...

"This morning I found out that I won the 2025 Stillwater Award for Journalist of the Year. I've grown from an ignorant 20-something who could barely write a coherent sentence, but I have farther to go...I hope each word I write brings us closer to ending the age of mass incarceration." — PSV2

"Scanning mail is not working to curb drug smuggling. We need treatment."

Prison Journalist of the Year First Place: Phillip Vance Smith II "Aside from PJP, I want to thank my team: Lewis Whitmire, Giulia Hjort, and Jon Campbell, who helps me dismantle the carceral system through writing. Only a few truly understand the difficulties of reporting from inside."

We also send our hearty congratulations to Inquest author @phillipvancesmith2.bsky.social for winning this year's Stillwater Award for Prison Journalist of the Year! You can read Phill's thoughts on the importance of prison journalism here: inquest.org/what-is-the-...

#NorthCarolina journalist @phillipvancesmith2.bsky.social won the prestigious 2025 Stillwater Awards Prison Journalist of the Year at last night's ceremony! The award is very well deserved. I could not be more excited for this amazing writer and incredible human being. www.spj.org/stillwater-a...

"From where I’m sitting, the drug problem is far worse now than before they prohibited paper mail" Don't let prisons fool you: Mail scanning is inhumane and ineffective at stopping drug use behind bars. More from @phillipvancesmith2.bsky.social👇

“North Carolina has long expected imprisoned people to shoulder part of the cost of their incarceration,” says a law professor who studies prison labor and revenue.

It's tempting to view "The Tragedy of True Crime" as just a book about death—there's murder, killers, and victims—but it's actually an examination of life. In his comprehensive review of John J. Lennon's first book, Phill explains how Lennon is refreshing a stale genre.

Walmart sells 11-ounce bags of Chex Cheesy Pizza Snack Mix for less than $4. In North Carolina prisons, a 4.25-ounce bag of that same product costs $8.75. That's less than half the product for 2x the price. Carceral greed at its finest.

From Phill's team: Congratulations to Steve Brooks, Phillip Luna, and Phillip Vance Smith II, the three finalists for The Stillwater Awards 2025 Prison Journalist of the Year, presented by @spj-posts.bsky.social & @prisonjournalism.bsky.social : www.spj.org/stillwater-a...

What do a tattoo artist, a jailhouse lawyer, and a fitness phenom have in common? In his latest blog, Phillip Vance Smith, II describes how three people find purpose in prison on his free Substack, Prison Life Unlocked. prisonlifeunlocked.substack.com/p/finding-a-...

"Poverty in prison is the most efficient destroyer of purpose. Focus drives a person to either redemption or ruin, and poverty in prison causes us to focus on the wrong things."

"You could say the role of a prison journalist is to illuminate the dark corners of prison." — John J. Lennon, incarcerated journalist

In my short fiction story, "Put Yourself In Our Shoes," I portray the American prison as I have known it for 24 years: cruel, cold, and uncaring, but with a tinge of hope...if you're willing to struggle for it. — pvs2