In our fight for intellectual freedom and the First Amendment rights of all, we cannot forget people experiencing incarceration. A phenomenal guest post from @bookstoprisoners.bsky.social on what's happening in prison censorship right now (& what you can do!): bookriot.com/books-to-pri...

All Kansas prisons now prohibit programs like ours, which send donated books to incarcerated readers, & have banned print newspapers from publishers. For what? Vague claims about drugs on paper. Yet they can't & won't provide evidence. Basically: "Trust us, bro." kansasreflector.com/2025/09/18/k...

"How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way". A book deemed so harmful by the Florida DOC that even a review committee upheld the ban on the grounds that learning to draw comics somehow presents a threat to the safety of the prison. Even worse, per policy (p. 2), books banned like this are often destroyed.

Betteridge's Law of Headlines states that any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered with the word no. Now readers in this jail are stuck with paltry options that don't help them--unless they pay for e-books. Guards, not books, deliver contraband. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Our intrepid Executive Director, Andy, wanted to give a visual representation of our current 3-month backlog of requests. We've worked to catch up since moving last year, but the unanswered letters are still as long as Andy! Can you help? Sign up to volunteer at www.bookstoprisoners.net/volunteer!

Our friends at Rogue Liberation Library have begun receiving comic book rejections from FCI Marion in Illinois. Despite successful operations nationwide for 50+ years, our programs are frequently scapegoated re: contraband, and we're all frustrated about the resources we're forced to spend to fight.

Vocational training materials are some of the most impactful books that we provide upon request. These books can help people plan their futures and increase confidence about re-entry, as expressed in thank you letters like this one. Interested in helping? 📚 www.bookstoprisoners.net/donate-books

Organizers of the Wheel Of Time Fan Convention (for fans of the popular fantasy novels), @wotconofficial.bsky.social, raised over $2,200 for us, to fulfill 400+ requests for books! Proceeds from their post-con merch sale will help incarcerated readers and improve future con accessibility! Thank you!

5 positive news pieces in our world this week: 1. New York State prisons will eliminate fees for phone calls! www.thecity.nyc/2025/07/22/p... 2. Wisconsin Books to Prisoners is working hard to overturn a statewide ban on prison book programs: wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/07/28/w... (1/4)

The work of prison book programs via a focus on @prisonbookprogram.bsky.social in Quincy, MA, covering the evergreen meaning of physical books, information restrictions created by prison systems, and the powerful solidarity of letters from incarcerated readers. www.governing.com/workforce/a-...

🎉 BIG NEWS: Prison phone calls in New York will be FREE as of August 1! With this change, families with loved ones incarcerated in NY prisons can expect to save an $13 million annually — money that too often comes at the expense of groceries, rent, & family stability. 💡 tinyurl.com/mvc5w26v

As an all-volunteer organization we rely on each other to enhance and expand our efforts. One volunteer decided we should stock kids books and now we do! Incarcerated people write to us asking for these books so they can read them over the phone to their kids or during in-person visits. 😍

"Prisons all over the United States are withholding books from prisoners, but not because they contain contraband. Books are becoming harder to receive based on their content."

Midwest Books to Prisoners is excited to announce our new home at Theatre Y, a free theater & abolitionist space in North Lawndale, located at 3613 W Cermak Rd (1 block from the Central Park Pink Line). 💗💗💗 Volunteers are welcome anytime during our open hours: 💞Wednesdays 3-7pm 💞Saturdays 12-5pm

"Prisoner requests to read books, to draft literature, and to speak to loved ones embody at each turn the crux of escaping the rigor mortis of confinement" We see this reflected in request letters. Incarcerated readers write about crushing stress & blankness of days in cells. Books bring paths out.

"People who are incarcerated don't forfeit their rights to access to information or to reading materials," says Alan Kilpatrick, a librarian with the Law Society of Saskatchewan. @cbcnews-rss.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Thank you to everyone who supported our big ask for postage costs during #GiveBig! Your gifts will make it possible for us to mail almost 1,000 packages of books, each of which will educate, entertain, and possibly change the life of a reader in prison.

"Your gift to me (the books you have sent) is a gift to many! I looked around last night and realized that 9 people have a book they borrowed from me." One book sent to a prison can touch many lives. Your gift of postage can make it possible. #GiveBig for stamps at www.wagives.org/organization...

"We will be implementing a policy to reject all incoming publications". The federal prison in Terre Haute, IN, seems to have a new ban on ALL mailed books. We provide free books to people with otherwise limited options. Fears of drug-soaked paper now used to ban our books without recourse for us.

Today is the start of the two-day #GiveBIG giving event in Washington! We're asking for help with postage for our summer months. $25 completely covers shipping expenses to provide books to four more incarcerated readers in our program. Donate today and tomorrow at www.wagives.org/organization...

Beyond books, postage is our largest expense. That's why we're asking you to #GiveBig to our Summer of Stamps. $20,000 pays for 3-4 months of shipping to 3,500 incarcerated readers. Your donation of $5.71 can bring the world to someone in prison. Donate stamps at www.wagives.org/organization....

Did you know DC Books to Prisons supports multiple book clubs behind bars! A donor is matching purchases from our Politics and Prose or bookshop.org wishlists found here- linktr.ee/dcbtp for only two more days! Help us out and support an independent bookstore at the same time! #BooksToPeopleInPrison

We always learn something reading people's letter requests. In this letter, that Paul Morphy could play chess blindfolded. Imagine that! Not many prisons accept hard cover books anymore, so it was doubly special that we had just the book requested--and that the facility would accept it!

A lovely memorial to a truly generous person: Long Hair Dave, an icon in Olympia, WA, and a founder of that city's chapter of Books to Prisoners. Thank you, @filtermag.bsky.social. filtermag.org/remembering-...

May 5 is the last day to double your donation when you buy a book to donate to BTP. But, good news! Stores that maintain wishlists or in-store wish-tables for us make them available year-round. Find our partners at www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/find-ou.... #PrisonBooksWishlists #IndieBookstoreDay

Yay! Wonderful that @bookstoprisoners.bsky.social in Seattle finally has a permanent home. They do great work & spend most of their time & resources on mailing books to prisoners who really need them, rather than on fundraising. If you’re looking to donate to a good cause, consider them. 📚

A wonderful overview of the challenges & significance of books-to-people-in-prisons programs, written by Jackie, a volunteer with @dcbookstoprisons.bsky.social "Learning the regulations [governing the process of getting books inside prisons] felt like studying for a degree in carceral bureaucracy"

Prisons are fucking hell and also just so absurd all the time

For the ongoing #IndieBookstoreDay donation event (thru May 5), we're profiling our partner Left Bank Books! Our projects collaborated during our founding in 1973 and this store remains our shipping site. Visit LBB at 92 Pike St! Learn about our partners: www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/find-ou...

We are overjoyed to have a permanent space for the first time ever. Books to Prisoners started in 1973, so we have been waiting very patiently for this perfect home to call our own. 🏠 phinneywood.com/2025/04/book...

Books to Prisoners Spokane gets all our letters from @bookstoprisoners.bsky.social Seattle. The letters are as unique as you and me and the individuals that write them. One common theme is always that books HELP. They provide entertainment, information, connection, spirituality, and HOPE.

Another week, another huge pile of packages Books to Prisoners is fulfilling to ship to incarcerated folks! Due to limited funds each package contains 3 books usually. Recently we've been receiving a lot of requests for adult coloring books. Thank you to our community for helping make this happen!

This is the 3rd year Phinney Books has partnered with us for #IndieBookstoreDay & they always craft striking displays! Come see at 7405 Greenwood Ave N., or donate from their online wishlist. Through May 5, each book you donate to BTP will be matched! Links: www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/find-ou...

If you're in Fremont to visit @charliesqueerbooks.bsky.social and Ophelia's Books, come on down the block and visit! <3 We're not doing too many Festivities b/c we're prepping for FCBD, but our @bookstoprisoners.bsky.social promo is still going!

"It is troubling that people in prison have to rely on us, a small group of volunteers with no funding or official status, for their basic information needs. This dependence points to a broader systemic information blackout in prisons..." canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...

Check out the in-store display @outsidercomics.com prepared for our #IndieBookstoreDay book drive! Outsider Comics is one of seven local bookstores participating in the matching-donation book drive through Monday, May 5: www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/find-ou... #PrisonBooksWishlists

“If you request treatment for a drug or alcohol problem, you will find confusing information and empty promises."

We reached out to our partner bookstores for photos of their in-store displays for the BTP #IndieBookstoreDay matching promo. One store responded back this morning: "We sold out of nearly everything we set out, so the table is looking sparse while we re-order." A fantastic "problem"! Keep it up! 😅

Books to people in prisons programs keep expanding in more countries! Check out Buku Beyond Bars in Malaysia! says.com/my/lifestyle...

The Independent Bookstore Day event starts today! And we have great news--a new partner! Charlie's Queer Books (465 N 36th St, Seattle) has an in-store display and an online wishlist at charliesqueerbooks.com/gift-registr... All of our amazing local bookstore partners can be found below 👇

We already struggle to keep up w/ massive demand for books in prisons, especially because libraries are often the first budget line cut by DOC. Washington is better off than many states because funding is through the Secretary of State. These cuts will be devastating. www.king5.com/article/news...

We're in a network of community groups with a mission to provide free books to incarcerated readers. Find local groups--donate & volunteer if you have capacity! prisonbookprogram.org/prisonbookne... And check out San Francisco Public Library's amazing map of services! sfpl.org/services/jai...

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During Independent Bookstore Day, BTP is partnering with local independent bookstores & a family foundation to bring much-needed new books to our readers. Visit stores April 21-May 5 & buy a book for BTP from BTP-specific tables/wishlists. A family foundation will MATCH the value of every purchase!

"Still, the underlying problem remains the same: The rules can seemingly shift at any minute, and it’s unclear how staff at individual prisons will enforce them on any given day." Our groups face mounting obstacles in almost every state at this point. We need help. tonemadison.com/articles/wis...

"Because of your book program sending me Michie’s West Virginia Code Annotated, I was able to litigate an amended sentence order from life without parole to eligibility for parole after serving 15 years. In other words, you helped save my life. Thank you."

Thank you letters like these keep us going during uncertain times. Such a pleasure to have proof that books end up in the hands of incarcerated readers :-) See many more letters on our website: www.prisonlit.org/category/pri...

What happens to the books that we mail to incarcerated people in Appalachia? ❤️ They are cherished. 📖 They are read until they fall apart. 🤝 They are shared. 💡 They change lives. Read more about the journey of a book:

"Do you want to know why going paperless and restricting mail doesn’t work? Because most drugs are brought into the prison by the people who work here."

BTB regularly receives requests for books of nearly every type of religion. We are thrilled to have a recent donation of 25 English/Arabic language versions of the Qur’an! Thank you to the supporter who donated these, we are sure that they will be cherished by the people who request them! ❤️