LET’S Learn

It’s important to act early in professional relationships with an incarcerated writer on how to best pay them. Like many things with the prison system in the United States, getting money to an incarcerated person depends on how they individually manage their money, and restrictions regulated by state and federal prisons.

Negotiating and signing contractual and other formal agreements with people in prison varies on a case-by-case basis. Preparing to navigate the nuances of these legalities can start with personal research.

In the United States, most incarcerated people are prohibited from using the internet. To monitor communication between the walls, prisons use surveilled communication services such as JPay and Corrlinks as email systems for incarcerated people. These services have limited capabilities and general costs associated with them.

Writing while incarcerated is difficult without the additional burden of trying to get published without a typewriter or computer. For this reason and a host of other system-level restrictions, working with writers in prison requires more thoughtful, time consuming  measures that often involve transcribing, editing by hand, and mailing multiple drafts through physical mail.

While physical mail is still the most common way to communicate with people in prison, sending mail through the walls varies by state, and sometimes by institution. This can range from the type of envelope that is allowed to the number of pages that can be sent in one package. Before sending mail to prisons, make sure to research specific protocols for each facility.

Working with writers who are incarcerated requires more than the willingness to reach through the walls, but understanding the conditions and systems under which these writers are living and working. It is important to remain abreast of ethical considerations of people who experience incarceration in order to sustain a professional relationship rooted in equity.