How do prisoners keep in touch with their families when they’re inside? How do families cope on the outside, and who helps them? How easy is it for released prisoners to acclimatise to life on the outside? Our panellists, Josie Bevan (author of Prisonbag, a blog about her family’s experience of prison), Mark Proctor (CEO of Ormiston Charities), Morwenna Bennelick (Prisoners Education Trust) and Hamish McLellan, will provide a fascinating insight into the impact of imprisonment on families. The panel will be chaired by Professor Nigel South, from the Centre of Criminolgy at the University of Essex.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT SYMPOSIUM
FRIDAY 9 MARCH

This event is part of Essex Book Festival's Crime and Punishment Symposium, at the University of Essex. The symposium is a collaboration between Essex Book Festival, the Department of Literature, Theatre, and Film Studies (LiFTS) and the Centre for Criminology.

Over the last three years Essex Book Festival, Essex Libraries, University of Essex and English PEN have collaborated on a series of creative writing workshops, Writing on the Inside, for prisoners in HMP/YOI Chelmsford. It was a hugely valuable experience for all concerned. We are hosting a Crime and Punishment Symposium to share this experience with a wider audience, and to debate a variety of issues and challenges for offenders and their families.

For more information visit www.essexbookfestival.org.uk