Kevin D. Sawyer is an African American originally from San Francisco, California. He has written numerous short stories, memoirs, essays, poems and journals on incarceration and other subjects. His work has appeared in outlets such as, Columbia Journalism Review, Harvard Journal of African American Policy, San Francisco Chronicle, The Harbinger, UCLA Law Review, Cal Matters, Bay City News, Prison Journalism Project, and more.
Sawyer is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the 2024 recipient of the award for Best Documentary Pitch at the inaugural San Quentin Film Festival; and a 2024 Stillwater Award recipient for a Best News story. In 2019, he received a PEN America honorable mention for nonfiction. In 2016, he received The James Aronson Award for Exemplary Community Journalism; and in 2014 he was on the San Quentin News team that won SPJ's James Madison Freedom of Information Award.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree in mass communication from California State University, Hayward and a diploma as a paralegal/legal assistant from Blackstone Career Institute. In April 2023, Sawyer was offered admission to the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.
Bostyon Johnson is the managing editor San Quentin News. The newspaper has given him a chance to walk with confidence and bring him out of his comfort zone. Since working at San Quentin News, Johnson said he has become less selfish and more driven to expose social justice issues in and outside of his community.
Edwin E. Chavez is the Spanish Journalism Guild Chair for San Quentin News. His journey in the newspaper has taken him from being illiterate to an award winning journalist. Being a part of a large marginalized community, he believes inclusivity and education break the barriers that are commonly ignored. As a member of the Editorial Board, he can speak up for his community by creating a space for their voices to be heard.
For Jerry Maleek Gearin, working for the San Quentin News as a staff writer and Journalism Guild Chairperson has been uplifting. He enjoys working with students, showing them the basics of news writing, and seeing their articles published in the paper. He also enjoys conveying the message of social justice through journalism.
Anthony Caravalho’s experience in the SQ Sports community as a baseball coach led him to become the sports editor for San Quentin News. He made a natural step up to the plate after previous sports editor Tim Hicks was released. He graduated from the Journalism Guild Class in 2018 and has won won several journalistic awards for the newspaper since.
C.K. Gerhartsreiter originally volunteered at San Quentin News to help repair the organization’s word processors. The paper asked the former bond trader to write an article about canteen prices and it won an award from the California News Publishers Association. He joined as a staff writer a few weeks later.
Aristeo Sampablo works for the San Quentin News because he wants to use information to break the barriers of language and to expand his photography and video skills. The social skills he keeps acquiring at the San Quentin News team help him to connect with his community inside the walls.
Eric Allen knows the unique skill set needed to be a staff for the San Quentin News. The newsroom gives him an opportunity to tell stories of men and woman who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. The San Quentin News gives a voice to the voiceless and he likes having a hand in being their spokesperson.
César Martínez came from Mexico City and received an invited to join San Quentin News Journalism Guild by an acquaintance. At the beginning, he focused on improving his Spanish and English grammar by taking Guild classes in both languages, but soon got into the purpose of the newspaper to inform the needs of the Spanish speaking community, which has since turned into his goal.
Michael Callahan is a husband of 17 years and a father to three handsome, kind, and supportive boys. His passions are playing and coaching sports, serving in the Catholic Church, and spending time with his family. Since his incarceration in 2019, he has expanded his writing to journalism, journaling, memoir, and creative expression.