Home › New Releases › Chained Birds: A Crimemoir

Chained Birds: A Crimemoir

by Carla Conti

A journalist’s decade alongside a federal prison case

Regular price $21.83 USD
Regular price $34.11 USD Sale price $21.83 USD
Save 36%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    2025 Next Generation Indie Book Award winner — True Crime

    2025 True Crime category winner

AlbakiReads Editorial

A journalist’s decade alongside a federal prison case

Carla Conti’s memoir begins with a request for help from a lawyer friend and grows into a ten-year effort to advocate for federal inmate Kevin Sanders. The account connects a violent prison-stabbing case with Conti’s work on a tell-all book, placing the risks faced by the defense team and its inside source alongside the longer challenge of supporting Sanders after prison. The “Author’s Cut” edition adds more than 20 photographs, sketches, and pieces of prison artwork, along with a preview of Conti’s next true-crime book.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • True-crime readers interested in prison cases and alleged corruption or abuse.
  • Readers interested in journalism, defense advocacy, and wrongful-conviction themes.
  • Those seeking a memoir about supporting an incarcerated person and re-entry after prison.

Themes

Federal prison gangs and penal abuseDefense advocacyJournalism and true crimeIncarceration and re-entry

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Chained Birds Description

"Author's Cut" 3rd edition is a relaunch of the award-winning true crime memoir, now with 20+ new photos, sketches, and prison artwork, plus a preview of Carla's next true crime book, The Jacklighter.

 

BOOK AWARDS

  • 2025 Best Crimemoir: AudioBookReviewer
  • 2025 Winner True Crime: Next Generation Indie Book Awards
  • 2025 Winner True Crime: Indie Reader Discovery Awards
  • 2025 Silver True Crime: Independent Publisher Book Awards
  • 2025 Finalist True Crime: National Indie Excellence Awards
  • 2025 First Place Nellie Bly Journalism: Chanticleer Intl' Book Awards

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

After three years in Europe, former journalist Carla Conti just wanted to settle her family into the suburbs of Philadelphia. But her high school friend Scott Powell, a lawyer handling a brutal prison stabbing case, needed a favor. Before she knew it, Carla became part of the defense team and was mired in the terrifying world of federal prison gangs, penal abuse, and corruption.

 

Then, when she agreed to write a tell-all book on the violent machinations behind the court case, with Scott's client as an inside source, the stakes turned deadly. Two different prison gangs issued "hit orders" against the prisoner she and Scott now considered a friend, and the journalist and defense attorney were imperiled by association.

 

CHAINED BIRDS: A CRIMEMOIR is the story of Carla's 10-year journey to advocate for federal inmate Kevin Sanders and help him re-enter society after prison. But the mission came at a cost as Carla struggled to balance her own, Scott's, and Kevin's safety while writing an expos

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews