In the summer of 2022, we started a weekly autobiographical writing and publishing workshop at the Columbia River Correctional Institution, a minimum-security prison for men in Northeast Portland, Oregon.

Much like writing workshops in other contexts, participants write during the week, read their work during class, and receive feedback. We bring in writing materials, books for inspiration, and visitors who share their experience as writers, editors, and publishers. In the past, we have organized projects with people in prison that included artist residencies and a comedy school for people who aspired to do stand-up. The writing workshop was created partly in response to the amazing life stories that participants shared with us in those earlier projects.

More than thirty men have participated in the workshop so far. Some have been released and are completing their books on the outside, while others have drifted out of the program or been transferred to other prisons. But each of them has had an incredible story to tell. Interested people who have heard or read the work being produced at the prison have been surprised by the quality of the writing, the personalized styles, and the unique perspectives that are seldom represented and made available to the public.

In addition to publishing the autobiographies, we work with artists and writers to publish fiction, nonfiction, and art books. In 2025, we received a 2025 Oregon Literary Publishing Fellowship from Literary Arts.