About the Author
Carla Conti is a journalist-turned-true-crime author whose award-winning debut, Chained Birds: A Crimemoir, features a decade‑long investigation into federal prison gangs, abuse, and corruption. CHAINED BIRDS has received multiple national book awards, including several best true crime honors and a Nellie Bly journalism prize.
Her next book, The Jacklighter: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, returns to a 1976 “hunting accident” she first covered as a young reporter. THE JACKLIGHTER will be released in Fall 2026.
Carla writes for readers who love real‑life thrillers, investigative journalism, and survivor‑driven true crime.
Chained Birds is the winner of 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 the publishing rights to Chained Birds and released an “Author’s Cut” 3rd edition under her own imprint (Crimemoir Press), which includes 20+ never-before-seen photos, sketches, and prison artwork.
Workshop Presenter and Speaker
Carla is an experienced guest speaker who presents a True Crime Uncovered workshop, most recently at the 39th Annual Pennwriters Conference in Lancaster, PA, in May 2026. She has also served as a panelist and moderator for writers’ conferences and authors’ groups, including the Killer Nashville conference and her local chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who supports her true crime habit.
Pre-Orders for Carla’s Next True Crime Book, THE JACKLIGHTER, Are Live at Her Crimemoir Store!
Pre-order For Fall 2026 Delivery and Lock in Early Savings
Carla’s next book, THE JACKLIGHTER: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, is an investigative true crime story about a decades‑long Pennsylvania cold case, the small town it tore apart, and a murder that refused to stay buried. Like CHAINED BIRDS, THE JACKLIGHTER blends witness interviews, true crime testimony, legal records, and investigative reporting to expose buried truths and systemic injustice. THE JACKLIGHTER is scheduled for release in Fall 2026.
🎥 Watch the official JACKLIGHTER trailer
Read the First Two Chapters of The Jacklighter as a Crimemoir Confidential Newsletter Subscriber
You can read more about The Jacklighter on this page, and if you’d like to read the first two chapters, you can join Carla’s more than 5,000 Friends of the Flock and sign up for her 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.