Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Freedom Reads

JustLeadershipUSA @jlusa.org · Aug 1

“Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s ‘Chain-Gang All-Stars’ was awarded the second annual Inside Literary Prize, the first-ever U.S.-based literary award to be judged by currently incarcerated people.”

Read more: jlusa.org/2025/08/01...

#ChainGangAllStars #InsideLiteraryPrize @freedomreads.bsky.social‬

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Aug 1

This edition is dedicated to the Inside Literary Prize !

Don’t miss it—read at link: freedomreads.org/news/newslet...

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 29

Watch this opening from the Inside Literary Prize ceremony, where @dwaynebetts reflects on the power of books—and the readers behind bars who chose Chain-Gang All-Stars by @king_nk as this year’s winner.

Full video at the link: youtu.be/ouzt3USAbjk
#insideliteraryprize

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 25

And the book is! 🥁

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin.

I hope you all had a fun week learning more about our Freedom Library books. The five books we discussed this week are all a part of the 500 book collection.

Have a beautiful weekend!

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 25

Final Day! And it has been such a blast sharing these clues with you all.

Can you guess where this quote comes from?

Share your guesses below!

Answer will be revealed by 5pm.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 24

And the book is! 🥁

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus!

Got it right? You love your French existentialists! 💯

Final quote drops tomorrow. Same time. Same game.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 24

Day 4! And we have another clue!

All week long we’re sharing powerful quotes from books in our Freedom Library.

Can you guess where the quote comes from?

Share your guesses below!

Answer will be revealed by 5pm.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 23

And the book is! 🥁

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou!

Got it right? You love Maya Angelou as much as we do! 🎉

New quote drops tomorrow. Same time. Same game.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 23

Hey thank you for the kind message! We will be sharing the book the quote is from by 5pm!

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 23

Day 2! And we have another clue!

All week long we’re sharing powerful quotes from books in our Freedom Library. Can you guess where the quote comes from?

Share your guesses below!

Answer will be revealed by 5pm.
#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 22

And the book is! 🥁

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry!

Got it right? Give yourself a high five! 🙏

New quote drops tomorrow. Same time. Same game.

#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 22

Day 2! And we have another clue!

All week long we’re sharing powerful quotes from books in our Freedom Library. Can you guess where the quote comes from?

Share your guesses below!

Answer will be revealed by 5pm.
#freedomreads #freedomlibrary #books #quotes #fun

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 18

🎙️ Podcast Week: Injustice & the Letter from Birmingham Jail

At 16, @dwaynebetts was sentenced to 9 years. He cried reading Dr. King’s letter.

On @EconTalker, he reflects on that moment—and how words behind bars can spark freedom.

🎧 podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/i...

#mlk #podcast

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 17

🎙️ Podcast Week: Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars

In this @Freakonomics episode, @dwaynebetts joins Steven Levitt to talk Dostoevsky, prison, and the power of literature to transform lives.

📚 Listen: freakonomics.com/podcast/read...

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 16

🎙️ Throwback! @dwaynebetts on how one book changed his life—from solitary to Yale Law—and why he now builds prison libraries.

📚 “Dwayne Betts Is Proof That a Book Can Change Your Life”
🔗 open.spotify.com/episode/2TAV...

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 15

In this episode of @BNBuzz #PouredOver, @dwaynebetts joins @miwamesser to talk life, poetry, and the journey to founding Freedom Reads.

A soulful convo on storytelling, forgiveness & how books set us free.

📚 Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bso9...

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 14

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 14

Still reflecting on last week’s historic moment — @king_nk won the 2nd Inside Literary Prize. His speech moved us all.

Listen to his Freedom Takes episode — brilliant, necessary, and keeps the convo going.

open.spotify.com/episode/5vSD...

#FreedomReads #InsideLiteraryPrize

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 11

Season 2 of The Freedom Takes continues!
@dwaynebetts & Steven Parkhurst talk with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah about Chain-Gang All-Stars & the power of forgiveness. Nana is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow & 2023 NBA finalist.

🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/5vSD...

#InsideLiteraryPrize #podcast

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 11

Congratulating Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah for winning the Inside Literary Prize 2025!

#freedomreads #insideliteraryprize

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 9

Welcome to Season 2 of The Freedom Takes! 🎙️

In this episode, @dwaynebetts and Allie Salazar Gonzalez talk with Paul Harding about This Other Eden—a 2023 Booker Prize finalist.

Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/74FL...
✨
#FreedomReads #InsideLiteraryPrize

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 8

Season 2 of The Freedom Takes is here!

First up: Astrid Roemer joins us to talk On a Woman’s Madness, feminism, & the power of words. Her novel was longlisted for the 2025 Int’l Booker & translated by Lucy Scott.

Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/3Ybe... #FreedomReads

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Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 7

#freedomreads #inthenews

www.telemundo.com/noticias/not...

Leer en la cárcel para entender y conectar: "Los libros cambian el clima de la prisión"

La organización Freedom Reads ha instalado 498 bibliotecas en 50 prisiones para jóvenes y adultos en todo EE.UU., que incluyen libros en español. "Esto abre tu mente y hace que quieras cambiar", dice ...

www.telemundo.com

Freedom Reads @freedomreads.bsky.social · Jul 7

#freedomreads #inthenews

www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/...

Inside prison walls, here's how a book program is changing lives

Accessing reading material in prisons is hard, but Freedom Reads co-founder Reginald Betts, a former inmate, went beyond books, creating libraries made by former prisoners.

www.nbcnews.com