The blog “Prison Diaries,” written by Orange resident Chandra Bozelko, announced April 24 that it won the People’s Voice Webby Award for Best Personal Blog in the 22nd Annual Webby Awards. Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, the Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet.
“Prison Diaries” has been honored by the Webby Awards twice before in 2016 and 2017, but this is the first year that the blog was nominated – and won.
Started in 2011 at the New Haven Independent, “Prison Diaries” was the first regular column by an incarcerated writer in a non-prison newspaper. When it was cancelled, Bozelko continued to write and saved her columns for publication after her release from York Correctional Institution in Niantic. Since its start in 2014, “Prison Diaries” has won awards from the Webby Awards and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
“Prison Diaries” has set the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said Claire Graves, Executive Director of the Webby Awards. “This award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.”
“When I handwrote essays in my cell at York Correctional Institution, I never thought that my chicken scratch would even see daylight, much less be considered for a prestigious prize like the Webby Award,” Bozelko said. “I’m really grateful to the people who voted and supported me as I try to provide a peek into the modern prison. I’m so gratified that people are paying attention to the ways we treat incarcerated people in this country.”
IADAS, which nominates and selects the Webby Award winners, is comprised of digital industry experts, including Lyft CEO Logan Green, Girls Who Code Founder Reshma Saujani, Gimlet Media CEO Alex Blumberg, Instagram’s Eva Chen, CNN host Van Jones, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, and Playmatics CEO Margaret Wallace.
“Prison Diaries” will be honored at the Webby Awards ceremony on Monday May 14, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, where winners will have an opportunity to deliver one of the Webby Awards’ famous 5-word speeches. Notable 5-word speeches include: Steve Wilhites “It’s Pronounced ‘Jif’ not ‘Gif’”; Björk’s “A.E.I.O.U”; and The Women’s March, “Women, look what we did!” Fans can watch the show highlights on The Webby Awards YouTube channel. A full list of both the Webby Awards and Webby People’s Voice winners can be found at webbyawards.com/winners.