Written in confinement. Unbound by imagination.

Unbound Ink: Of Mercy and Madness is the debut anthology from the Writers Guild Beginners class at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. Nine incarcerated women prove through these very stories that even in the most overlooked places, extraordinary literature can take root. Here, every genre becomes a doorway into resilience, vision, and the unbreakable pulse of human creativity.

Inside this collection, you’ll discover:

Science fiction that asks what mercy costs when survival is on the line, from starships orbiting blue worlds to shapeshifting species desperate for a safe home.

Humorous fiction that cuts close to the bone, where the truth lurking in institutional kitchens is more unsettling than anyone dares admit; where a maggot seeks her purpose amid discarded dreams; and where survival often requires laughing in the face of the absurd.

Dark whimsy and gothic humor, where suburban vampires reckon with transformation, protection, and the monsters we’re willing to become for the people we love.

Romantic suspense and intimate emotional journeys, where danger collides with longing, forgiveness, and the persistent hope that hearts can endure more than they fear.

These stories could not have been written anywhere else, by anyone else. Each author writes from confinement, yet every narrative pulses with fierce resolve and imagination. Together, they carve open a space where their voices—and their stories—can finally stand unbound.

This anthology claims space for those written off and calls on the world to make room for their brilliance.

Unbound Ink is not just a title. It’s a promise.

Featured authors:

Kristie Evans: The Garden of Eatin’

Lissa Dee: Higgledy-Piggledy

Crystal Avilla: A Home for the Nooni

Ashe Marks: For Inmate Consumption Only

Susan White: The Mercy Protocol

April Lovell: My Secret Vampyre and Fae Life

Alyssa Bonnell: Snapped

Shauna C. McGuire: Southern Bite

Kelly Baker: What the Heart Can Take