Annys Shin wins Georges Fellowship

Annys Shin, a senior writer for the Washington City Paper, has been awarded the Christopher J. Georges Fellowship for in-depth reporting to cover the impact of the release of prisoners finishing their mandatory sentences. Shin, 29, will receive $10,000 to fund research and writing of the project.

“This year about 600,000 (inmates) will be released. More of them are coming home after serving longer sentences – at least five years. And more of them are coming home with little preparation to start a new life,” Shin wrote in her proposal.

“What is the impact of so many prisoners released with serious infectious diseases and substance abuse issues on the small number of communities they return to? Who takes care of their children while they are gone? When prisoners return, are they able to take over care-taking duties?” she asked.

Shin will focus on specific neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., area for her project.

“Among the several excellent entries, Annys Shin’s proposal stood out for its originality and focus on an issue confronting our nation’s communities that is currently getting little attention,” said Gigi Georges, chair of the fellowship fund’s board.

Established at Harvard, the Christopher J. Georges Fellowship Fund is awarded annually to enable young journalists to engage in research and writing that exemplifies Georges’ commitment to in-depth reporting on issues of enduring social value in which stories document the human impact of public policy.

Georges was executive editor of The Harvard Crimson and an honors graduate of Harvard College. Following graduation he joined the Wall Street Journal as a reporter, where his stories on the welfare system were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He died in 1998 from complications related to lupus. He was 33.

Shin has been a senior editor of the Washington City Paper for the past two years. Previously, she spent two years as a senior writer with the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C. Shin has also worked at the National Journal, New York magazine, Women in Higher Education, and Ms. She received a B.A. in 1994 from Columbia University.