Hello!

I'm Bel, and I'm raising funds to publish Her Mighty Pen: life-writing from women's prisons.

What's the story?

In 2024-25, I was lucky enough to run a series of creative life-writing courses across three women’s prisons, as part of my PhD research. I met and wrote with 27 extraordinary people who used life writing techniques to tell their own stories in their own ways. 23 of these writers submitted pieces towards an anthology: Her Mighty Pen: life writing from women’s prisons.

To get a taster, you can read a piece from each of the contributing authors here: https://culturesofincarcerationcentre.substack.com/p/her-mighty-pen

And there's so much more good stuff waiting to be put out there!

We're excited to be publishing with Unbarred Press, a new independent literary press committed to 'publishing bold new work shaped by lived experience of the criminal justice system'. 'Her Mighty Pen' will be their first publication.

Why is this important?

We want to publish Her Mighty Pen so that:

We also want to hold 4 celebratory book launch events - one in each of the contributing prisons, and one online for the wider public. These will celebrate the contributing authors, and hopefully inspire others (those inside and outside of prison) to try life-writing for themselves.

Where will my donation go?

£1,000 from this crowd-funding will get the anthology published and into the hands of the imprisoned authors. It covers the printing costs, alongside packaging and posting costs to get the authors their copies.

If we raise more than £1,000 from this campaign, that will be put straight into the project - providing contingency if Arts Council funding doesn't come through (see below), or creating more life-writing workshops - centred around 'Her Mighty Pen' - in other women's prisons and women's centres.

Won't the whole thing cost more?

Yes! I have applied to the Arts Council for funding to cover the other costs (including commissioning a foreword and professional cover design, more copies for contributors and project supporters, my editorial/project management time, paid consultation with released contributing authors, and book launch costs). If that funding doesn't come through, I will apply elsewhere.

BUT with your support, we can at least publish the anthology and get a copy to the imprisoned authors, as well as have some kind of book launch, even if all the rest isn't possible immediately.

What do I get in return?

By supporting, you will:

N.B. If you want your name printed, please make sure you add the name you'd like printed to your donation. If you don't want your name printed, please make an anonymous donation, or contact me via gofundme to let me know.

Will I get a copy of Her Mighty Pen?

Once published, you can purchase your own copy of Her Mighty Pen direct from Unbarred Press or Waterstones. It isn't possible at this stage to promise a free copy to every supporter.

Why crowd-fund?

Crowd-funding raises awareness around Her Mighty Pen - growing the readership, and enabling greater impact. There are also VERY few funding initiatives that support individuals (rather than charities) making projects happen. Aside the from the Arts Council (who require minimum 10% match funding), the one organisation that has values aligned with 'Her Mighty Pen' and funds individuals have already said they are unable to contribute.

What will happen to proceeds from book sales?

Any proceeds raised from book sales will be donated the charity 'Women in Prison', who support women affected by the criminal justice system and campaign to end the harm it causes.

Whilst ideally the proceeds would go towards each contributing author, it is currently too complex to set this up for all 23 authors, particularly when we cannot guarantee high sales, or that an author's share would be anything more than £5. It was therefore agreed with all contributing authors that any proceeds would be donated to a charity they voted for.