San Quentin Rehabilitation Center hosted the 2026 awards ceremony for the American Penal Press Contest in the multipurpose room of the facility’s Learning Center on Friday, Sept. 18.
Though several dozen attendees were immediately on hand, most attended virtually, appearing on a large screen behind the podium. Among the remote guests were incarcerated journalists who gathered in prison newsrooms across the country to watch and participate in the celebration.
The contest is a reincarnation of an annual event that ran from 1965 to 1990, one sometimes referred to by the moniker “Pulitzer Press Behind Bars.” Pollen Initiative, the fiscal sponsor of San Quentin News and the organization currently spearheading development of prison media centers nationwide, revived the competition in 2025 to honor incarcerated-run publications, establish community across prison walls, and encourage healthy competition.
San Quentin News Editor-in-Chief Bostyon Johnson opened the ceremony and introduced the MC, retired CDCR Captain Sam Robinson. Robinson served as San Quentin’s public information officer from 2007 to 2022, and oversaw the groundbreaking development of the facility’s multimedia programs and initiatives.
To set the stage for the ceremony, the retired PIO reflected on his experience heading San Quentin’s incarcerated media program. He acknowledged how easy it is to say “no” to rehabilitative innovations like prison journalism, and testified to the potential rewards and power in saying “yes.”
Twenty-four publications hailing from 14 states, all staffed by incarcerated persons, submitted 250 entries to the 2026 competition. The numbers reflected growth from the previous, inaugural year of the reconstituted contest. In 2025, the competition received 179 entries from 21 newsrooms across nine states.
Local award winners in 2026 included Jason Jackson, a staff writer for the San Quentin News.
Jackson won first place in the long-form feature category for his story about a San Quentin resident whose father was one of the Soledad Brothers. He portrayed the younger man’s lifelong struggle to live up to, and to overcome, the legacy of his famous father.
For the second consecutive year, San Quentin News won the award for Best Newspaper.
Roseborough present first place to San Quentin News for Best Newspaper. (Photo by Marcus Casillas, San Quentin News)
