In The Prison of his Days: A Miscellany for Nelson Mandela on His 70th Birthday includes work by the following authors: Chinua Achebe, John Banville, Samuel Beckett, Mary Benson, Edward Bond, Hubert Butler, Austin Clarke, Patrick Galvin, Gunter Grass, Samus Heaney, Desmond Hogan, Danil Kharms, Benedict Kiely, Thomas Kinsella, Michael Longley, Derek Mahon, W.J. McCormack (ed.), Mebdh Mac Guickian, Richard Murphy, Agnes Nemes Nagy, Marin Sorescu, and Wally Serote.

Beginning with an editorial, the book includes poems interspersed between fiction, scholarly criticism, and interviews.