TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Department of Corrections has partnered with national non-profit Freedom Reads to install 37 Freedom Libraries in two state correctional facilities, part of a broader initiative to expand access to literature for incarcerated individuals.
The new libraries—10 at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility and 27 at Northern State Prison—were announced Tuesday and mark a significant expansion of Freedom Reads’ efforts, which now include 478 libraries across 48 prisons in 12 states.
“We gratefully acknowledge Freedom Reads for their generous donation,” said NJ DOC Commissioner Victoria L. Kuhn. “The Freedom Library collections are more than books and resources. They are agents for transformation and possess the power to empower individuals.”
Each Freedom Library contains a curated collection of contemporary and classic works, including The Odyssey and Invisible Man, selected with input from authors, educators, and readers. The initiative is intended to promote personal growth, critical thinking, and rehabilitation within prison walls.
Inside Literary Prize events expand inmate engagement
In addition to the library openings, Freedom Reads hosted Inside Literary Prize events at both Edna Mahan and Northern State. The prize, now in its second year, is the first U.S. literary award judged exclusively by incarcerated people. Twenty-five incarcerated readers in New Jersey are among those voting for the 2025 prize.
Judges are evaluating four shortlisted books: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, This Other Eden by Paul Harding, On a Woman’s Madness by Astrid Roemer, and Blackouts by Justin Torres. The winner will be announced in July.
As part of the events, Freedom Reads Founder Reginald Dwayne Betts read from his new poetry collection Doggerel at Edna Mahan. At Northern State Prison, Caits Meissner, editor of The Sentences that Create Us, joined an author event to engage incarcerated readers.
“In collaboration with the leadership of the New Jersey Department of Corrections… we tried to remind those Inside that their voices, their opinions, their lives matter,” said Betts.