About the Author
Carla Conti is a former journalist and author of the award-winning true crime memoir Chained Birds: A Crimemoir, a prison abuse exposé about justice and survival in federal prison. It took her ten years to write as she balanced the safety of the story participants (including herself) in this tell-all thriller of prison gang hit orders and corrupt officials.
Chained Birds has won multiple 2025 national and international book awards, including Best Crimemoir from AudiobookReviewer, 1st Place in True Crime from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Winner in True Crime from the Indie Reader Discovery Awards, Silver in True Crime from the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), and a 1st Place Nellie Bly Journalism award from the Chanticleer International Book Awards.
In the summer of 2025, Carla regained her publishing rights to Chained Birds and released an “Author’s Cut” 3rd edition under her own imprint (Crimemoir Press) that includes 20+ never-before-seen photos, sketches, and prison artwork.
Carla has served as a guest speaker, author panelist, and group moderator for writers’ conferences and authors’ groups, including the annual Killer Nashville conference, the upcoming 39th Annual Pennwriters Conference, and her local chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who supports her true crime habit.
Carla’s Next True Crime Book, THE JACKLIGHTER, is Now on Kickstarter!
Carla’s next true crime book is another Pennsylvania thriller — The Jacklighter: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains. The book is currently in a “pre-launch” phase on Kickstarter and scheduled for release in Q4 2026.
View the official JACKLIGHTER video on the project page and follow by clicking “Notify me on launch” to be first in line for exclusive Kickstarter print editions, eBook, and audiobook bundles.
Read the First Two Chapters of The Jacklighter
You can read more about The Jacklighter on this page, and if you’d like to read the first two chapters, you can visit the Kickstarter page or sign up for Carla’s free newsletter on Substack.
Connect with Carla
You can read more about Carla on her Author Profile pages at Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads, where you can also ask her questions via the Goodreads forum.
You can reach Carla via any of her social media links below or this submission form. She’ll do her best to respond to messages promptly.
Contact Form
Carla Conti is a journalist and the award-winning author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir. Her next true crime book, The Jacklighter, is set for release in 2026. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who supports her true crime habit.