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. 4 gathers together 45 poems from the 2022 and 2023 Koestler Awards, showcasing just some of the inspiring poetry written by people in the criminal justice system, edited in-house for the first time by members of the Koestler Arts team.

The fourth volume features a foreword by poet, playwright and author Joelle Taylor; winner of the T. S. Eliot prize for poetry, author of numerous collections including C+nto & Othered Poems and curator of IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, the 2023 Koestler Arts National Exhibition at the Southbank Centre, London.