From our magazine by Hope Corrigan: The Inside Books Project, a nonprofit operated by volunteers, sends about 40,000 free books to prisoners each year. But their vital work is endangered by a new rule banning used and hardcover #books. https://www.texasobserver.org/prison-crackdown-reading-access-profile/
The letters of #gratitude that we receive from incarcerated readers inspire us to continue sending books behind bars. We just received a letter from Jason in Virginia, who wrote:
"Prisoners can be difficult people to love and so I appreciate your commitment to serving those who have made some less-than-admirable decisions."
A #bookstore in #Asheville, #NorthCarolina, "has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit... alleging that the #SouthCarolina Department of Corrections violated the rights of state prisoners by not allowing them to receive mailed books that were not from one of six large, for-profit distributors."
Unlike most of the bookstores that we post stories about, @firestorm is on Mastodon. Yay! (We wish we could convince others to join the Fediverse!)
https://www.aol.com/articles/asheville-bookstore-sues-sc-corrections-090528000.html
Many prisons ban books about tattoos, and even art books containing designs that someone could conceivably #tattoo. This is because tattoos in prison often lead to #HepatitusB, #HepatitisC, or other deadly infections. However, a prison in #Missouri is taking a different approach to preventing tattoo-related infections. It is teaching incarcerated people to engage in safe tattooing. After their release, they will be able to work as licensed tattoo artists.
https://www.whro.org/2026-06-22/prison-tattoo-program-gives-participants-skills-while-reducing-risk
Michael Sackman has firsthand experience of the impact of #books on people who are incarcerated. Here's another #quote from him:
"Having access to reading materials helped me while I was incarcerated, by providing me with knowledge, opportunities for self-improvement, and a connection to a world outside of my own confinement, ultimately creating a positive behavioral change."
3/3
Here's a great #quote from the article about the book donation to the #OkanoganCounty Jail & the #Colville Tribal Correctional Facility:
"The only thing more expensive than educating inmates is not educating them. If we can provide opportunities to learn, shape mindsets, and increase reading and comprehension skills, we are benefiting society at large. Once released, they will have the skills and mindset to establish themselves in a career and contribute back to society." - Michael Sackman
2/3
If you live too far from #WashingtonDC to donate your used books to us, look for nearby programs serving incarcerated readers. This article describes a group in #WashingtonState that collected books for the #OkanoganCounty Jail and the #Colville Tribal Correctional Facility:
https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin/group-donates-more-than-500-books-to-okanogan-county-and-colville-tribes-correctional-facilities/article_a7377579-f01f-43e4-a5cb-94621def833c.html
(Also in #WA is the amazing Books to Prisoners organization, which is based in #Seattle & has associate organizations in #Portland, #Olympia, & #Spokane. See https://www.bookstoprisoners.net/ for details.)
🧵
News from #Minnesota:
"People serving time in Minnesota prisons are helping choose this year’s Inside Literary Prize, a national book #award determined by a jury of entirely incarcerated readers... The award is a collaboration between #FreedomReads, the Center for Justice Innovation and the National Book Foundation. The idea is to include incarcerated readers in national literary discussions and foster connections and personal growth behind #prison walls."
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/05/29/incarcerated-readers-help-select-inside-literary-prize
There are concerns that #Saskatchewan Penitentiary (in #Canada), may eliminate its librarian's position.
"The expertise of a #librarian is key to inmate rehabilitation because librarians curate materials for inmates completing Grade 12 equivalency courses and post-secondary education, which only trained staff are capable of doing... Encyclopedias, books and journals are the main sources of information because inmates are not allowed to access the internet"
Letters like this one from Linda, who is incarcerated in Texas, motivate us to keep sending books. Linda wrote:
"Thank you so much for the recent books you sent. I LOVE them all! You will never know what it is like to be in prison & have no one & for people who don't even know me to go to the trouble to find gifts for me. For me, other than getting ice cream (!), a shipment of [a] few books is the most exciting thing!!!"
We're honored to have our services compared to ice cream.
Our friends at #Wisconsin Books to Prisoners (WBTP) have published a book called "Booked with Books." It is a collection of book reviews, written by people who had received books from WBTP.
"After getting those books, many of the prisoners wrote back to share what they thought. That launched an idea: Why not invite prisoners to write reviews, and then publish those in a collection?"
https://www.wpr.org/news/book-review-collection-wisconsin-prisoners
Although Independent Bookstore Day is over, our celebration of indie bookstores is ongoing. A generous donor will give us a matching cash donation for books purchased for us from the following wish lists now through May 2, 2026:
Lost City Books: https://lostcitybookstore.com/wishlist/2434160702957791
Bol Co-op: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/13c2b1a101748045b69982ac6c536554adb34056
People's Book: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/fcb53997a15127c7c1d79194b14defaea888057b
Solid State Books: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/1f8be267c141a55e8d1196724c2e7ef145bdaa9f
Little District Books: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/741ebcd7b5ccbda6ed184f1ca320a49eda82d90b
RE: https://bookstodon.com/@DCBookstoPrisons/116466540745427508
I celebrated Independent Bookstore Day yesterday with a visit to my neighborhood bookshop, and today I ordered a book for DC Books to Prisons. How are you celebrating? #books
Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day by buying books for incarcerated readers! Free shipping April 25-26, 2026, plus we'll get a matching cash donation! As prison book restrictions become more onerous, our need for new books grows.
Lost City Books: https://lostcitybookstore.com/wishlist/2434160702957791
Bol Co-op: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/13c2b1a101748045b69982ac6c536554adb34056
People's Book: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/fcb53997a15127c7c1d79194b14defaea888057b
Solid State Books: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/1f8be267c141a55e8d1196724c2e7ef145bdaa9f
Little District Books: https://bookshop.org/wishlists/741ebcd7b5ccbda6ed184f1ca320a49eda82d90b
If you're in #BuffaloNY (Buffalo, New York), this may be of interest:
James Tager, author of “Literature Locked Up: How Prison Book Restriction Policies Constitute the Nation’s Largest Book Ban,” a PEN America report, will give a presentation about #censorship practices in jails and prisons at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in 305 Silverman Library on the UB North Campus.
The announcement above is copied from https://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2026/04/libraries-prison-censorship.html - please see that page for further details.
Books & Reading accounts to follow (continued):
NON-PROFIT BOOK ORGS
@DCBookstoPrisons - Non-profit based in US providing free books to prisoners
@scotlit - Association for Scottish Literature, non-profit promoting reading/study of Scottish writing
BOOK EVENTS
@dwcon - The International Discworld Convention, celebrating works of Sir Terry Pratchett
E-BOOK STORAGE
@libreture - Independent ecosystem for DRM-free ebooks, includes online storage, reading lists, bookshop directories etc
4/10
As far as we know, we are the only prison book program on Mastodon. However, there are many other prison book programs in the United States. One is the #Appalachian Prison Book Program, which sends books to people incarcerated in #WestVirginia, #Virginia, #Tennessee, #Kentucky, #Ohio and #Maryland. The founder, Katy Ryan, has some quotes online at https://www.newswise.com/articles/expert-on-prison-education-says-books-open-doors-for-incarcerated-people
If you are in the #Urbana #Champaign area in #Illinois, there's a great opportunity to help incarcerated readers while also obtaining great books for yourself. Our friends at Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners will be holding a book sale Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at 202 S Broadway Ave in Urbana. Books are priced $1 to $2 (with the exception of specially priced books), and all proceeds go towards funding UC Books to Prisoners.
“There’s a feeling I love almost more than anything: the feeling of sinking into a good book while the world around me fades away. My breathing slows, my shoulders drop, and the mental chatter in the back of my mind goes quiet.
[…]
Reading uses some of the oldest circuitry in the human brain. For most of our evolutionary history, we were readers - just not of books. We read animal tracks in mud, storm patterns in clouds, danger signals in the rustle of leaves.”
Interesting read on reading:
https://bigthink.com/mind-behavior/how-reading-books-regulates-your-nervous-system/
TV shows often make it look like the only activities in jail or prison are lifting weights & getting in fights. The reality of life behind bars is usually more mundane. Many incarcerated people spend all day working. Others are in isolation cells, where they pass hour after hour, day after day, with nothing to do. A lucky few incarcerated people are able to entertain themselves with a #BookClub. Alta Journal has the story of a book club in the #SantaBarbara County Jail.
https://www.altaonline.com/books/a70452656/santa-barbara-jail-womens-book-club/