Midwest Books to Prisoners wins first Martin Sostre Memorial Award

doughathaway5
6 days ago
1 min read

Books to Prisoners is part of a nationwide movement supporting incarcerated people's right to read. At least 60 prison book programs operate around the US and Canada. Kudos to Midwest Books to Prisoners in Chicago.

Prison Banned Books Week Awards Inaugural Martin Sostre Memorial Fund to Midwest Books to Prisoners for their Anti-Censorship Work

(New York)—Prison Banned Books Week announces the winner of the first, annual Martin Sostre Memorial Prison Books Fund to Midwest Books to Prisoners for their work challenging carceral censorship.

The award honors the legacy of the jailhouse lawyer Martin Sostre whose foundational suits established the First Amendment rights of criminalized people. Royalties earned through the sale of Books Through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement published by UGA Press, constitute the Fund’s monetary award. The Fund’s aim is to support prison book programs for their work raising awareness of carceral censorship and taking action to stop the suppression of criminalized people’s expression.

Since its inception in 2004, Midwest Books to Prisoners has successfully challenged censorship policies in prisons across Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin through legal action and public advocacy.