Feedback From Our Readers

Hello About Time and Readers,

I love getting the opportunity to learn about other prisoners and their stories from all over the country. We all have something to share and I encourage everyone to give it a go. Finding purpose is how we thrive beyond survival against all odds, especially in these circumstances that I'm sure we can all relate to.

Shout out to my girls at DPFC and anyone else incarcerated, struggling with their own consciousness.

A gracious thank you to About Time for giving us a necessary platform to express ourselves.

I’ve read every edition, and love what you do this paper brings hope and reminds us we are human.

From my poems I hope to bring hope! I want to reach people and if my poem somewhere helps someone then I have succeeded in my mission.

Congratulations on the launch of About Time. I can only imagine how many obstacles you have navigated to successfully sail the product into Australia's prisons, and from where I sit it was very warmly received by the inmates, security and medical staff that I share time with. Well done, and thank you for delivering us something we didn't know we needed until we received it.

I first and foremost would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for all the hard work that goes into producing and providing myself and the other prisoners in Australia with your truly captivating content.

Your work and effort does not go unnoticed.

Thank you to the team at About Time for your efforts and hard work making the newspaper what it is.

I am thankful for any and all social and creative outlets such as yourselves involved in the creation and distribution of your newspaper. They provide a link or window to another place, an opening for personal expression and a greater sense of community for those who choose to make use of the opportunities. Writing a book review for a peer newsletter that might only be read by a hundred or so inmates at one prison may not change the world, but having someone stop you in the yard to tell you that they were impressed with your writing is valuable and reinvigorating.

Wow, I won the caption comp for December... I've never won anything and the whole jail is congratulating me. Our jail was never told about your newspaper – but in November 2024 it just showed up and all 120 girls love it. So please, please keep it up. ... Thank you for the write up on pen pal programs – I've been in jail for four and a half years and always watch a show called Love After Lockup based on the USA pen pal project ... Anyway guys, thank you for your newspaper. We eagerly await it every month here.

About Time helps me relate to my problems knowing others are also dealing with similar problems I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I feel that I have a connection to others with similar struggles and that I am not alone. I don’t feel as isolated over the past six years doing hard time.

It has given me the confidence in trying to write better and for help in bettering myself pre-release.

Due to reading this I know there is help and that there’s always some one worse off needing help.

About Time is an avenue that we can express our frustrations, our gratitude and facts. It is a honest and reliable source that we can depend on, it is stories and facts from prisoners that hasn’t been distorted. None of the stories have been doctored. I really enjoy reading this honest media outlet. Thank you!

I can't tell you how glad I was to see this paper come into my unit, a sign that times can and always will change the way we live, especially in prison.

This is my first time and I must say, stumbling across About Time has made things so much better. The open, honest, raw and relatable articles are real gems and resonate hugely.

Anyway, I felt compelled to contribute so here follows a few submissions for your consideration.

About Time

There is a great paper 'About Time',

Which is free and won't cost you a dime,

With articles galore,

It is never a bore,

And provides a refreshing angle on crime!

To About Time,
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I only just discovered the prison newspaper last month in April 2026.
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I spent all day reading and sharing the newspaper here at Melaleuca Women’s Prison.
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I had only just begun writing again since getting incarcerated this year in January.
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When I found out about About Time I was excited to be able to write in to the national prison newspaper.
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I do look forward to reading some of the submitted written work of others and possibly hope to enter into the next writing competition!

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From Vanessa.

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Dear About Time,

I was very excited to see the writing competition article in the latest edition. Included is my submission. It's based on my own happy place (nature) and even if it's nowhere near good enough to be included in the newspaper, just having the chance to write creatively is fantastic. So thank you.

I relate to a lot of people in this paper. I feel comfort in knowing I'm not alone in custody. I feel more connected, and well heard.

I feel submitting/participating in surveys makes me feel as my input is valued towards making a better paper! It's helped boredom and helped me better understand jail, as it's my first time (been here 4 months).

Keep producing a great paper! Thousands of us appreciate it! Love from Charlotte.

About Time helped both me and my partner on the outside share some situationaI awareness. Cannot wait for the paper each month. The articles by other prisoners resonate with my own inner voice, they give my own feelings more universality. Submitting my writing feels as if I can make a difference.

Thank you About Time! Amazing work.

To About Time,

Thank you for your newspaper. I look forward to reading it each month. Its great! I enjoyed it from the first time I read it last year. Its made me feel connected, seen & heard. When I first went to jail I felt really alone and your newspaper helped me so much. Someone – well lots of someones – got how I felt. They understood. Thank you for that. I've written this poem while incarcerated. I really hope you will publish it for me.

Keep up the hard work – we need you guys.

To read about people experiencing almost the same things that bother me makes me feel less isolated and that I am not crazy, some peace of mind and relativity, empathy and understanding.

To read about others going through the same experience is reassuring and comforting, it helps kill time, learn, laugh and relate.

Keep up the good work. We need you :)

This paper is dedicated to prisoners which helps our mind health in so many ways.

The stories are from prisoners who want to share their views with others and that helps us do our time. It meant I could share my story with others who are feeling the same way. I feel this paper allows us to connect with each other.

‍About Time is a great way to learn what is happening in other jails. It was a chance to use my writing skills and use the tools to tell a story. Love this paper.

Please keep up the great work and thanks for giving us a voice.

Thanks for all your great work with this publication and with your excellent follow-up.

Thanks Edith. I like to receive the paper – it's good to hear from people with lived experience for my role.

About Time has given me the opportunity to express myself in writing. This helps with my rehabilitation. Thank you for this opportunity.

Our hope and our voice lies at the hand of those who can make a difference and this is why I'm writing and trying to make a difference/change.

I'm always reading your paper.

About Time reminds me that I'm not alone in the prison. I'm human just like you. It allows community to exist outside of individual prisons. It gives varied opinions, even people who disagree with each other. It's refreshing. It gave me something to do that feels important. I have a voice.

Thanks for your time and effort.

Again thanks for the great mag.

G'day, My name is Dane. Firstly, great job on the paper. I look forward to it every month and expect I'm not the only Aussie inmate who is appreciative of the effort that goes into producing such a thing and at no cost to the incarcerated. Keep up the good work.

First of all I would like to say what an awesome magazine – keep up the good work.

Thank you for this newspaper, it makes me feel less lonely, more comforted and I have hope for my future.

Thanks for all the important work you and your organisation are doing.

I wrote to you a couple of months ago and you published my article in your newspaper. Thank you, as some other inmates here were touched by it because I got the officers to photocopy it on four papers and I stuck one on each noticeboard in the  units and one on each window and everybody read it. Some prisoners praised me and said “good on ya”. I’d like you to consider publishing a new thing I wrote about recidivism.

To About Time,

I only just discovered the prison newspaper last month in April 2026. I spent all day reading and sharing the newspaper here at Melaleuca Women’s Prison. I had only just begun writing again since getting incarcerated this year in January.

When I found out about About Time I was excited to be able to write in to the national prison newspaper. At the time I had no idea what to write. I wanted to enter the writing competition but the subject “Food For Thought”, is one of my least favourite food sayings!

So I was a little put off and tried a couple attempts to write something about it, not succeeding in my attempts. I do look forward to reading some of the submitted written work of others and possibly hope to enter into the next writing competition!

Thank you all very much for the outstanding work and effort. The paper is a much needed blessing for all of us.

We may be seen as criminals but we are also human beings who have rights, rights that are being stripped from us. Thank you to all the About Time team, you have given us all a voice, lets hope it can be heard.

I'm writing to you guys, because I'm a big fan of the work you do and what the newspaper represents, and because I'd like to share some advice and tips on how to make the most of your time inside.

Hi thanks for your reply to my letter, it’s always good to receive mail in prison, it helps to break up what can be a boring existence.

Congrats once again for your August edition and of course your pick of my poem for publishing! Thanks again always for your continued publication. Keep up the good work.

I'm a big fan of your magazine/newspaper and I look forward to it each month. I enjoy reading things written by other inmates like myself across the country.

About Time can help others relate to stories or cope and could possibly help others think more positive.

I thank you for your time & consideration regarding these matters & I greatly look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you so much for your positive response to my short story!
P.S. Is About Time published for the public too? My father would love to read your paper.

Heard of your work on radio national well done.

Keep up the amazing work Rosie and crew.

Thanks for reading.

Hi, I just want to send congratulations on your first issue reaching my prison. I may be a rare beast, a prisoner who is enjoying his time in prison. This is due to my work as editor of our prison quarterly newsletter and running computer-aided design (CAD) workshops for prisoners.

You DO make a difference!

There are some fantastic poems in issue six that have inspired me to knock one up to send off next month. Keep up the good work!

This newspaper is a fantastic idea and I am glad it comes here.

Thanks again for the great content in the March 2025 issue.

Thank you About Time.

Thanks for your time and effort.

Great to see how the publication is putting forward items of interest to inmates, such as the expansion of education in venues.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to write to you guys. Once I’ve got my course completed, I will write again about what we need out there in the community to stay out of this place.

I write to you, as a Victorian prison officer who reads every issue of About Time. It really helps me to see things through the prisoner's eyes. Although I am empathic, reading this publication enlightens me and increases my understanding of the issues prisoners face. Taking the time to read each issue and consider the content (with an open mind) makes me a better officer; and I sincerely hope that the perspective I gain comes across to all the guys in our care. Keep up the great work!

Good work – very needed.

Love your newspaper, it provides a lot of people a bit of light :)

I'm living the stories your paper is printing, I strongly believe this paper will change lives. Our voices go unheard in here (prison). So thank u. For the 1st time in prison I feel we can make a change, It's given me PURPOSE N HOPE :) Your paper has already changed my life. I'm so grateful to u, there's not enough paper in here to put it all down on.

Since the very first edition was released in July 2024, About Time has been faithfully producing monthly editions. I know firsthand how widely it circulates: across prisons throughout the country, whether in printed form or through the iPads available to inmates. The response among prisoners, including myself, has been overwhelmingly positive. What makes About Time unique is that its content speaks directly to the lived experience of those of us on the inside. It offers practical information, but it is also deeply creative and artistic. The poems, stories, and artwork published give prisoners something that prison usually strips away-our voice. Here, identity is often reduced to our MIN number, our sense of personhood is eroded day by day. Yet when an inmate's words or artwork appear in About Time, that person is recognised again as fully human, capable of thought, creativity, and contribution. Equally important is the rehabilitative effect. Too often, boredom and frustration inside prison breed conflict, misconduct, and despair. About Time offers a powerful alternative: it channels energy into productive and meaningful work. Instead of wasting away or finding trouble, inmates can discover new skills, pursue creativity, and experience the pride of positive achievement. This not only improves mental health and prison culture in the short term, but also strengthens the likelihood of successful reintegration and reduces the risk of reoffending once inmates are released. Because of About Time, inmates are enabled to see the possibility of real change. There is no other service in Australia that reaches us in this way.

To the anonymous writer of ‘Embracing the Next Chapter’, from the August edition of About Time.

I’ve read a lot of articles in About Time this past year but your article about embracing the next chapter really meant something to me. Your words were real and meaningful.

I just wanted you to know that they had an effect on someone, that you reached someone, that you made a real difference to someone. I am also doing a long stint and have been struggling with the “I didn’t think I was going to have much of a future once released from prison”, the judgment and the criticism I have received.

I can just imagine what it would be like when I’m released but your words really made me believe I am worth something and I am in charge of my own destiny, so thank you for giving me that hope that I didn’t have before.