Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

Authors to Speak on the Rapid Rise of Women in Prison

The number of women in prison has nearly tripled within the past 2 decades. As of December, 2007, there were over 1,500 women in Washington State prisons alone.

Join investigative journalist and author of Women Behind Bars Silja Talvi, and Books Through Bars co-founder and author of the Resistance Behind Bars Victoria Law for a discussion on some of the reasons for this increase, conditions inside prisons and resistance both inside and out. Both authors will speak at the University Library, 5009 Roosevelt Way NE, on Thursday, May 14th at 5:30 pm.

Silja J.A. Talvi is an investigative journalist, essayist, and author of Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System. Her work has appeared in nearly a dozen book anthologies, including Prison Profiteers, and in over 75 publications nationwide. Silja is the recipient of 12 regional awards for excellence in journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists (in the Pacific Northwest); five awards for excellence in criminal justice reporting from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; and a national award for immigration reporting from the New American Media Foundation.

Victoria Law is a writer, mother, and photographer. Since 2002, she has worked with women incarcerated nationwide to produce Tenacious: Art and Writings from Women in Prison. Her writings have appeared in HipMama, off our backs, make/shift magazine and Left Turn. Her new book, Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women (PM Press, 2009), is the culmination of 8 years of research, writing and listening to the stories of women incarcerated nationwide.

This free event is sponsored by Books to Prisoners , a Seattle-based, all-volunteer, non-profit group. Since the 1970s, Books to Prisoners has sent books and other printed materials to incarcerated people all across the United States free of charge.

For more information about this event, please contact Rachel McDonald at mcdonaldrachel@gmail.com or Books to Prisoners at (206) 442-2013.