Fwd: Coverage Opportunity: Formerly Incarcerated Authors Lead Powerful Community Event in Minneapolis

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From: holly bot <holly...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Subject: Coverage Opportunity: Formerly Incarcerated Authors Lead Powerful Community Event in Minneapolis

Hi,

I’m reaching out with a story you may be interested in covering.

On December 12, Minnesota author and former inmate Holly Bot is hosting an immersive community event in Minneapolis that combines a 3,000-piece origami installation made in collaboration with incarcerated women, live testimony, and discussions about women’s experiences inside Minnesota’s prison system.

This event is especially timely in light of:

Minneapolis expanding civil-rights protections for justice-impacted individuals,

the rollout and scrutiny of Minnesota’s Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act, and

recent media attention and public protests involving conditions at MCF-Shakopee.

The event, Becoming: The From Surviving to Living Experience, also features two guest authors who are former inmates - Coley Gates and Nate Waldron - who will share their stories of trauma, re-entry, and transformation.

If you’re covering stories related to incarceration, justice reform, gender, faith, art, community healing, or local events, this may be a meaningful fit for your audience.

I’ve pasted the full press release below.

Photos of the installation, event space, and author headshots are available upon request.

Thank you for your consideration,

Holly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Immersive Book Launch Uses Art and Testimony to Expose Realities of Incarceration and Amplify Women’s Voices

Centered around art created with incarcerated women, the event illuminates the struggle for identity, mental-health stability, and family connection during incarceration.

Minneapolis, MN - December 1, 2025 - Minnesota writer and former inmate Holly Bot will launch her debut memoir with an immersive community event that highlights the lived realities of women in Minnesota’s prison system. Held at IWOC on December 12, the event blends collaborative art, firsthand testimony, and community dialogue to shed light on experiences that are often overlooked in public conversations about incarceration.

With Minneapolis recently expanding civil-rights protections for justice-impacted individuals and the state implementing major rehabilitation reforms, this launch arrives at a pivotal moment in Minnesota’s conversation about incarceration, re-entry, and second chances.

A centerpiece of the evening is a 3,000-piece origami installation created in collaboration with women incarcerated at MCF-Shakopee. Each folded piece represents a day of Bot’s eight-year journey through incarceration and the emotional weight carried by families on both sides of prison walls. The installation will accompany a live reading and testimony from Bot’s memoir, offering attendees a rare window into the emotional and spiritual challenges women face behind bars.

Bot’s memoir provides an unflinching account of jail intake, bureaucratic hurdles, trauma, custody battles, mental-health collapse, and the surrender to Jesus that reshaped her life. More than a memoir, the book serves inmates, families, and correctional staff by offering insight into daily routines, mental-health realities, and the hidden emotional cost of incarceration.

“My book isn’t comfortable. It challenges assumptions about justice, mercy, and redemption,” Bot says. “If you’ve ever questioned where forgiveness ends or whether real change is possible, this book is for you.”

In addition to Bot’s testimony, the event will feature two guest authors and former inmates - Coley Gates and Nate Waldron - who will share their own stories of transformation, resilience, and reentry. Their presence highlights the broader community of justice-impacted individuals whose voices often go unheard.

“From Surviving to Living is a remarkable piece of work with a timeless message for anyone who finds themselves in a painful situation from which escape feels impossible. I urge you to acquire a copy today,” says Dr. Douglas R. McLachlan, President Emeritus of Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, MN).

A portion of event proceeds will support distributing copies of the memoir to correctional facilities, reentry programs, shelters, and treatment centers across Minnesota.

Event Details

Event: Becoming: The From Surviving to Living Experience - official book launch celebration

Date: December 12, 2025

Time: 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Location: 2143 Lowry Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55411

Admission: Free and open to the public

Featuring:

3,000-piece origami installation created with incarcerated women

Live reading and testimony by Holly Bot

Guest authors & former inmates: Coley Gates and Nate Waldron

Community conversation & Q&A

Book signing and on-site book sales

Opportunities for attendees to record/share their own stories

More Information: https://hollybot.me/launch-party/

RSVP: https://partiful.com/e/eLRpJ6wjUW7hViq8bINh

About the Author

Holly Bot served a 12-year prison sentence in a Minnesota women’s prison. She is an author, speaker, and certified Biblical Counselor. Drawing from her personal experiences with incarceration and faith transformation, Bot writes and speaks candidly about identity, shame, grace, trauma, and second chances. Her story has inspired audiences in churches, volunteer trainings, and community organizations throughout Minnesota.

Media Contact

Name: Holly Bot

Email: ho...@hollybot.me

Phone: (612) 868-9287

Website: hollybot.me

Press photos of the art installation, author headshot, and event space available upon request.

Media Kit:

https://hollybot.me/media-kit/

Direct line: (612) 868-9287
Bot Consulting LLC
www.botconsulting.llc
www.hollybot.me
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