Poetry is the biggest category in the annual Koestler Awards for arts in the criminal justice system, receiving nearly 1000 entries a year. While art materials can be difficult to get hold of in prison, everyone is entitled to paper and something to write with.

Koestler Voices: New Poetry from Prisons Vol. 1 gathers together some of the best poetry submitted to the 2016 and 2017 Koestler Awards, showcasing just some of the inspiring poetry written by people in the criminal justice system, with a foreword by the late writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah, edited by Kate Potts.

The first of four volumes, Koestler Voices Vol.1 was initially published in 2017. The second edition has been reprinted in 2024 and includes a new introduction by our current CEO, Fiona Curran.