Incarcerated Journalists Panel
Steven Brooks
Steve Brooks began his journalism career during the COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin Prison (since renamed the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center) in the summer of 2020. He submitted his first articles to the Prison Journalism Project, based at Northwestern University, which supports incarcerated writers. He served as the editor-in-chief of San Quentin News, a publication produced by the incarcerated at the San Quentin Media Center, between March and December of 2023. Brooks also is a producer for “Ear Hustle” and “Uncuffed,” two podcasts that tell stories from inside prison. He has helped produce video news broadcasts for “Criminal Justice News” and “The Pulse,” which can be seen on the Friends of San Quentin News YouTube channel.
Previoiusly published articles:
Fast Company: https://www.fastcompany.com/91388476/fixing-restitution-laws-has-paying-ones-debt-to-society-gone-too-far
The Architect's Newspaper: https://www.archpaper.com/2025/06/california-norway-revamp-prisons/
TIME: https://time.com/author/steve-brooks/
Sports Illustrated: https://www.si.com/more-sports/2022/05/05/steve-brooks-running-san-quentin-1000-mile-club
Sara Kielly
Sara Kielly is an investigative journalist, poet, and jailhouse lawyer currently incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. Her work has appeared in Slate, Spotlong Review, New York Amsterdam News, New York Focus, and Film Comment. She is a 2023 recipient of Solitary Watch’s Ridgeway Reporting grant and is currently working on a memoir titled Slow Bleed: A Transgender Woman’s Journey to Survival in
Men’s Maximum-Security Prisons.
Previously published articles:
https://nysfocus.com/2024/09/25/halt-solitary-violations-bedford-hills-prison
https://nysfocus.com/2025/02/22/prison-strike-new-york-lockdown-conditions
https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2024/04/25/good-behavior-no-longer-matters-at-bedford-correctional/
https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/prison-movie-wives-black-heart-movie-diary/
https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/prison-movie-wives-black-heart-movie-diary-best-of-2024/