Books to Prisoners is excited to announce our administration of the Spring and Summer 2027 cycle of the Book Connection program! In 2023 W.W. Norton & Company committed to donating their textbooks to higher education in prison programs, leading to the creation of the Book Connection, a partnership between the publishing company and the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison administrated the program through the end of 2026. ​ Boo

Ear Hustle is an award winning podcast produced inside of San Quentin, a California state prison, that details the daily experiences of life in prison. In February 2026, Books to Prisoners volunteers had the pleasure of attending a live Ear Hustle show at Seattle Town Hall. Attendees heard first-hand accounts of what life behind bars looks like and the daily abuses incarcerated people are subjected to. The extent of the oppression present in these institutions makes accompli

Watch: Team of former prison inmates on frontline of Spokane wildfires Over the past century, the American wildfire season has escalated in intensity alongside climate change and short-sighted land management policy, making the effects of annual burns increasingly visible and impactful. Also more visible is the role of incarcerated labor in land management and disaster relief projects across the country. Since the 1940s, the Department of Corrections (DOC) and Department of

Looking for ways to help Books to Prisoners (BTP)? Want to learn more about prison literacy and prison issues? Do you like to write? If you answered “yes” to these questions, consider joining the BTP Blog Team! We are looking for a few good writers to join us in brainstorming, writing, and reviewing posts and articles for the BTP Blog. Here’s some FAQs. Q: What is involved in being part of the BTP Blog Team? A: Attend our online team meeting on the last Monday of each month f

In 2018, Books to Prisoners (BTP) embarked on a publication journey. The goal was to publish a book of letters to share incarcerated voices and experiences with more people in our community, and hopefully invite curiosity about our incarcerated peers and the state of their lives. We enclosed the question, “How has receiving these books affected your life?” in each of our book packages and the answers came pouring in. The result became a nearly 200-page book, Dear Books to Pr

As we enter the second half of 2026 we wanted to take a moment to celebrate our progress and thank all the lovely volunteers and donors who helped us get here! Thank you for continuing to show up for BTP and our incarcerated peers! So far we have sent just over 9 thousand (9,082!) packages of books to incarcerated people across the country! We are on track to beat our record of 14,744 which we set last year in 2025. Our volunteers have logged a whopping 4,247 hours of work! W

This is the first thing you should know: LGBTQ+ people are nearly 3 times as likely to be incarcerated as straight-identifying people. And for lesbian and bisexual women, the numbers are even worse – they are more than four times as likely to be arrested than their straight counterparts. While there are many reasons for this beyond mere stigma, the prevalence of subsistence sex work among members of queer and trans communities, drug law enforcement specifically targeted to

This Father’s Day, more than 1.2 million parents will be separated from their children under the age of 18 by the walls of an American prison. As a result, over 2.7 million children will face the social, emotional, health, and economic consequences of family separation. This accounts for roughly one in every 28 children, a rate that is over six times higher for Black and Hispanic children than their white counterparts. Skyrocketing incarceration rates since the 1990s affect

Juneteenth is a national holiday that takes place every year on June 19th. Also known as "Emancipation Day” or “Freedom Day,” Juneteenth was a pivotal moment in history when the United States advanced toward becoming a nation that grants freedom and equality to all its citizens. Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas in 1979, and it was only five years ago in 2021 that this crucial day in U.S. history became a national holiday. To truly understand the legacy of Juneteenth

The Couth Buzzard is one of our partner independent book stores where you can purchase books for us! Recently they hosted BTP volunteers and guests for a community night and showcase! How did you begin working with Books to Prisoners? Our history with Books to Prisoners goes back over a decade! I asked our previous owner, Theo, and he couldn't dredge up the exact origins, but I know the partnership was originally spearheaded by Sarah, a past employee to whom we owe a great de

“When the prison gates slam behind an inmate, he does not lose his human quality; his mind does not become closed to ideas; his intellect does not cease to feed on a free and open interchange of opinions; his yearning for self-respect does not end; nor is his quest for self-realization concluded. If anything, the needs for identity and self-respect are more compelling in the dehumanizing prison environment.” - Thurgood Marshall, Procunier v Martinez, 416 US 428 (1974). The Pr

This May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, providing a reminder to all of us to reflect on the troubling links between the prison system and the treatment of those with mental health conditions in our society.

April marks both National Deaf History Month and National American Sign Language (ASL) Day, which was celebrated on the 15th of this month. At Books to Prisoners, this month serves as a reminder of the unique challenges and injustices that deaf people face within the prison system.

Despite broad social and medical acceptance of cannabis today, since 1970, United States federal, state, and local law enforcement have made over 20 million marijuana related arrests, over 90% for possession only. Black Americans across the United States are on average 3.6 times more likely to face marijuana-related charges and more than nine times more likely to be arrested for public use than their white counterparts. Since Washington State legalized recreational cannabis u

Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week occurs during the third week of April and is a week-long recognition of the impact of volunteer service in our communities and the power of volunteers to transform the world. This year, we celebrate National Volunteer Week from April 19-25, 2026. Books to Prisoners (BTP), was created in 1973 as a project of Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore located in the historic Pike Place Market. Volunteers are the core of BTP. BTP lit

The following letter is written by several representatives from the national list including Books to Prisoners executive director Andy Chan, and posted per Andy’s request: Dear friends and supporters,The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ has begun implementing a new batch of restrictions that will make it much more difficult for non-profit volunteer organizations to send books into Texas prisons. Do you have a few minutes to help? The new policy would ban hardcover

March 31st marks International Transgender day of visibility. Today, we take a moment to acknowledge the existence of transgender people inside U.S. prisons, and recognize that they are not getting the care they need and are unduly targeted by guards, other inmates, and the system due to their gender expression. Trans individuals are almost always housed in prisons that match the gender of their birth certificate, not that of their identity and lived experience. A recent stud

On December 19, 2025, the ABC voted to enact the most restrictive prohibition on books and magazines anywhere in the US. As of February 1, 2026, people in AR state prisons would no longer be allowed to own or receive actual paper books, magazines, or newspapers. They could only read from electronic tablets or check books out from their prison's library. The only exception would be for religious material that had been mailed to a chaplain. ABC said that such a radical approach

Starting April 1, Texas will be instituting changes in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) regulations that restricts books sent to incarcerated individuals. Under the new changes, only new paperback books will be allowed in state prisons (Federal prisons are not impacted.) Used books, hardcovers, and books with minor wear would be rejected. Additional requirements include prohibitions on: Any markings such as highlighting or annotations Water damage, staining,

This year on International Women's day we take the time to acknowledge and honor the women trapped in our countries prisons and jails. Women make up a proportionately small percentage of the incarcerated population, but have experienced a faster rate of incarceration than men in the past decade. Women in U.S prisons face unique challenges due to the layers of institutionalized gender based violence perpetuated in carceral settings. Power imbalances within the prison setting m