Writers In Prison

I am feeling a little weary after returning from the Writers in Prison Network Conference which was held in Bristol on Monday.
It was a long way to go for one day, especially with the first train cancelled and the ubiquitous drunk seranading us all the way on the latenight Merseyrail train back home.
But despite it all, the trip was well worth it.

I met up with lots of old friends including Clive Hopwood, a director of Writers In Prison Network Ltd who told us the startling statistic that there are only 100 of us doing this job in the whole world.
We all come from a variety of backgrounds. There are a few journalists, novelists, poets, dramatists, film-makers and storytellers who all share a common goal, to help raise self-esteem by writing.
I was delighted when a colleague handed me the latest issue of the prison magazine, Not Shut Up. The magazine had published a poem by one of my prison writers. What made it all the more special was that this guy didn't even learn to read or write until he came to prison.
And it was all down to the ground-breaking Toe By Toe scheme whereby prisoners who are able to read and write mentor those who can't.
Now he's getting his work published in writing magazines, alongside professional writers. Once the impossible starts to become possible, real changes can begin to be made.

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