Books to Prisoners (Seattle)
Seattle nonprofit mailing free books to incarcerated people in the United States. Advocating for access to education and communication in prisons since 1973.
Bookstoprisoners.net
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- Friend of BTP Bill Thorness wrote a lovely profile of our organization and of Kris Fulsaas--a force of nature who has held us together for 36 years. "One guy said he gave [the book we sent] to his kids because he had nothing else to give them for Christmas" billthorness.substack.com/p/books-to-p...
- In 2025, we've spent $6,500 per month to ship 35,000 pounds of books to 10,823 readers behind bars. That's a lot of stories told, skills learned, and wisdom gained. On Giving Tuesday, your gift will provide books for the next patrons. $50 reaches 9 more readers: www.bookstoprisoners.net/donate-money
- Today, we are thankful for every time the right book from our organization finds the right person. When a book in the right hands brings joy and contemplation and growth and a reprieve from the tedium and dehumanization of incarceration. #thanksgiving
- We need to keep talking about the situation in Bernalillo County MDC, where ALL paper books--including personal possessions--were taken away from incarcerated people earlier this year. The proposed replacement is a tablet with extremely limited book options. www.kob.com/new-mexico/p...
- Reposted by Books to Prisoners (Seattle)We received a stunning letter (with something special attached) this week from a man incarcerated in Virginia. We want to share it with you all. Tldr: Books change lives. BOOKS CHANGE LIVES. And we couldn’t have helped this scholar without you. Thank you for your support.
- November is Native American Heritage Month. We serve many incarcerated patrons who seek books written by indigenous people or concern the lived experiences of indigenous people. We need help to fill our shelves with materials to provide for these requests: www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/novembe...
- The numbers are in from Banned Books Week 2025! Together, you donated 332 paperbacks and unlocked $6,225 in matching funds to help us purchase even more books. We are so grateful for your kindness and for your unwavering commitment to the people who need these books and this program.
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- She's voicing important things about prison censorship: 1. Oversight to stop harmful decisions needs to happen NOW. 2. Mailrooms claim ANYTHING on a book is "drugs". Proof? Who cares! Thank you for speaking up. It coincides perfectly with #PrisonBannedBooksWeek2025. www.tmj4.com/about-us/lig...
- Today is the 1st day of Prison Banned Books Week, a week examining the catastrophic impact of censorship on information access in carceral facilities. Go to prisonbannedbooksweek.org for updates & actions this week, and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOOKS TO PEOPLE IN PRISONS GROUP via books, $, volunteering!
- We are co-sponsoring a panel on Sunday, October 19 about banned books in the United States organized by @ravenchron.bsky.social Join us from 2-4 pm at Seattle Downtown Library! www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/join-us...
- Today, Oct. 11, is the LAST DAY of Banned Books Week 2025. Purchase 1 book for incarcerated readers from special in-store displays & online wishlists, and our patrons will receive 2 books! www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/double-... (p.s. - Left Bank Books in downtown Seattle is also participating!)
- Without proper oversight, unregulated inmate management funds become guard and admin salary funds, and library resources are already one of the first budget lines cut in prisons and jails. "The library used to have around 20 newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Those have dwindled to only six."
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- Banned Books Week 2025 starts on October 5. As part of this week focusing on public actions to stop censorship, a generous donor is partnering with several Seattle-area stores to DOUBLE book donations made to Books to Prisoners! Read more on our blog: www.bookstoprisoners.net/post/double-...
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- 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-...
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- "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....
- 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....
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- 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
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- 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"
- "What our incarcerated readers demonstrate is that true literary autonomy is about the right to seek what speaks to our individual humanity rather than institutional expectations." @jackiesnow.bsky.social on what she learned about reading from DC Books to Prisons. lareviewofbooks.org/article/read...
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- 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...
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- 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...
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- "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
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- 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...
