Book Clubs and Writing Workshops

Free Minds recognizes that books and creative writing have the incredible power to teach, build community, inspire individuals and change lives.

Free Minds meets weekly with juveniles charged as adults and held in a local juvenile detention center. Previously, all youths charged as adults were incarcerated in the DC Jail, but due to a change in DC law, they are now housed in juvenile facilities until they turn 18.

In our Incarcerated Youth Book Club, we come together to discuss a work of contemporary literature —an exciting experience for youths who have often had little meaningful exposure to books. The book club operates democratically with books chosen by majority vote. Members have chosen books like Makes Me Wanna Holler, Nathan McCall’s raw account of his troubled youth and his time behind bars, which allow them to feel a personal connection with a book and its author, often for the first time. Click here for a full list of books read in the Incarcerated Youth Book Club.

Free Minds also brings authors to visit the Incarcerated Youth Book Club. Past visitors have included the late Congressman John Lewis (March), Nic Stone (Dear Martin), Tiffany D. Jackson (Allegedly), Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X), Walter Dean Myers (Dopesick, Lockdown), Erin Gruwell (Freedom Writers Diary), Matt de la Peña (Ball Don’t Lie, Mexican Whiteboy), and many more.

Free Minds conducts book clubs and writing workshops with four groups at the DC Jail: young adults (18-24) on the Young Men Emerging Unit, incarcerated women, and groups in both English and Spanish with adults pursuing education on the education unit. We read and discuss literature that is relevant to our members’ lives. Members have chosen books like An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, La Fruta del Borrachero (Fruit of the Drunken Tree) by Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System by Cyntoia Long-Brown. Click here for lists of books read in the Jail Book Club: Young Adult Book Club, Women’s Book Club, Mentes Libres (Spanish Book Club).

Free Minds has brought many guest authors to visit the Jail Book Club. Past visitors have included Chris Wilson (The Master Plan), Danielle Evans (Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self), Tony Lewis Jr. (Slugg: A Boy’s Life in the Age of Mass Incarceration), Emmanuel Jal (War Child), Dwayne Betts (A Question of Freedom, Shahid Reads His Own Palm), Coe Booth (Tyrell), Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections, Freedom), George Pelecanos (The Way Home, The Wire), Kenji Jasper (Dark, Dakota Grand, Seeking Salamanca Mitchell, The House on Childress Street and Snow), James McBride (The Color Of Water and Miracle at St. Anna), Etan Thomas (More Than An Athlete), Dave Slater (contributing writer to DC Noir), Ellen McCarthy (staff writer for The Washington Post), spoken word artist Messiah, and author, actor, and activist Hill Harper (Letters to an Incarcerated Brother).

As DC does not have a long-term facility, a majority of Free Minds members spend the larger part of their sentences in federal prisons across the country. Our Prison Book Club provides long-distance, written correspondence to members in over 50 federal facilities. Members are sent 12 books each year, which are individually selected and tailored towards their interests. Members vote on the “Books Across the Miles” (BAM) book, which is sent to every member along with discussion questions. Their responses are featured in our bi-monthly Free Minds Connect, our magazine which features poetry, essays, and artwork from Free Minds members, staff, and friends. Members have voted on books including Kindred by Octavia Butler, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, and the March Trilogy by John Lewis. Click here for a list of books read in the Prison Book Club.

Free Minds hosts a weekly Reentry Book Club and writing workshop known as “The Build Up”, named by a Free Minds member, referring to the way prison and the streets tear people down, but Free Minds builds people up. Reentry members have selected books such as The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, and Counting Descent by Clint Smith. Click here for a list of books read in the Reentry Book Club.

The Reentry Book Club also welcomes a special guest speaker each month to discuss special topics in-depth. Past topics and guests have included “Healthy Relationships” with Dr. Towanda Jackson, “Stress Relief” with Redefine Your Mind’s Derrick Bey and our own Case Manager Demetria Atkinson, “Entrepreneurship and Leadership” with ScholarCHIP’s Yasmine Arrington, “Meditation and Wellness” with Dave Sampe, “Real Estate Investing” with Maurice McGeed, “Financial Literacy” with Monica Diamond Petty, and “Activism 101” with representatives from the Black Youth Project 100. Yinka “Lamboginny” Lawanson, a musician who advocates for incarcerated youth in Nigeria, also visited and performed a small concert for our members.