Books Through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement

Prison book programs have quietly been sending incarcerated readers literature for the last fifty years. Overwhelmingly all-volunteer, these autonomous but mission aligned collectives have provided education, mutual aid and support to millions of people. And yet, despite the longevity and scale, this movement has been largely undocumented. Books Through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement is a collection written by founders of prison book programs, long-time volunteers, currently and formerly incarcerated readers and lawyers and other allies who support our work of getting reading materials to people inside.

Learn about the founding of several prison book programs and the history and current state of carceral censorship through interviews, essays and a comic that explains how to start your own prison book program.

All royalties from the sale of this anthology go to the Martin Sostre Memorial Prison Book Fund which provides financial support to needy prison book program once each year. By purchasing Books Through Bars, you are sending more books inside.