I Published My NaNo-Novel! Tilia Jacobs on the Power of Teaching NaNoWriMo in Prisons

NaNoWriMo has found its way into elementary classrooms and universities, foreign countries and hometowns. But did you know that NaNoWriMo also has a place in the prison system?  Dedicated volunteers like Tilia Klebenov Jacobs give inmates an opportunity to voice their stories. Tilia will be teaching NaNoWriMo in four prisons in Massachusetts this fall. She also recently published a thriller titled Wrong Place, Wrong Time.

First, tell us about your book that just came out! Was it a NaNo project?

Yep!  My book is called Wrong Place, Wrong Time, and it was my 2009 NaNo-novel. It came out on June 1. A brief teaser:

When Tsara Adelman leaves her husband and two young children for a weekend to visit her estranged uncle, she little dreams he is holding several local children captive on his lavish estate. Mike Westbrook, father of one of the boys, kidnaps her to trade her life for the children’s. Soon Tsara and Mike are fleeing through New Hampshire’s mountain wilderness pursued by two rogue cops with murder on their minds.

That sounds great! You’ve also taught NaNoWriMo extensively in prisons. What inspired you to do that?

I was a 2009 NaNoWriMo winner, and I knew what a rush it is to write an entire novel in a month.  I happened to get involved with teaching writing in prisons through an organization called PEN New England. It’s a very good program, covering poetry, nonfiction, and fiction writing, and I found it very rewarding. 

On the down side, I was frustrated at how seldom I was actually teaching (every two weeks, max) and the fact that there were always multiple teachers for each meeting. After the Spring 2011 PEN New England class ended, I emailed the Director of Treatment at a women’s prison where I’d been volunteering and asked if I might teach a course there on my own. She said yes immediately—she knows how much the women benefit from writing. Then I told her I’d like to base it on NaNoWriMo, and she was ecstatic. We took it from there.

What obstacles have you faced while bringing NaNo to prisons?

Everything depends on the individual Director of Treatment (DOT).  The first one I talked to was enthusiastic and very supportive of my efforts; then, in typical fashion, she got promoted out of her job. I talked to numerous other DOTs about teaching the course in other facilities, and none of them would give me the time of day. It was very discouraging.  Here is a program that costs them nothing, taught by (if you will indulge me) a ridiculously qualified instructor, with tremendous benefits to the inmates—and they wouldn’t do it. Blech!  

More recently, I happened to meet the volunteer coordinator for the entire DOC, and he put me in touch with the right people.  All of a sudden I have two more prisons begging for my services!  So it’s all who you know.  

What are the benefits of encouraging this creative outlet? How has it changed the prisoners?

The benefits are tremendous. I have had the women tell me, “I never knew I had a creative side before I took this course,” and “I now know I can use my mind toward anything positive,” and “Of everything I’ve done here, this is what’s helped me the most. Actually, it’s the only thing that’s helped me at all.”

A few months ago I happened to run into a former student who was on a work-release program at a local restaurant, and she told me she’s still working on her novel. It is her new passion. How cool is that? So yes, it definitely has changed some lives!

As for more general benefits, I recommend you look at a study called “Education Reduces Crime.” It is a stunning view into the benefits of education—any education—for inmates.

Can you describe some of the inmates’ novels and how they’ve managed to incorporate NaNoWriMo into their prison routine?

The women often write very autobiographical novels; a minority write very escapist stuff: spiritual/paranormal, etc. Naturally, there is a range in quality, but the beauty of it is that you can always rewrite.

As for how they incorporate writing into their routines, I’d say the answer is by hook or by crook. Their time is often not their own; many have mandatory programs, such as AA or parenting; they also have jobs and work-release programs; and of course, if someone blares your name on the PA system, you drop everything and come running. But many of them are quite dedicated to telling their stories, and they manage it.

The prison where I spend the most time has a computer lab, and we had to negotiate the hours my students would be allowed to use it, but once that was settled it was a very good arrangement.

This past fall, the lab was being updated so it was closed, and the women did all their writing longhand. We had lower word totals that way, but not as much as you might expect. The bottom line is that if you want to do it badly enough, you’ll find a way. And of course I teach with the blessing of the administration, so that probably helps a bit.

Tilia Klebenov Jacobs holds a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Secondary School Teaching Certification from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Despite lacking the ability to breathe fire except in the strictly metaphorical sense, Tilia has taught middle school, high school, and college. Tilia lives near Boston with her husband, two children, and two standard poodles.