October 4th to 10th is Banned Books Week, a campaign to raise awareness of the rise of book bans of various kinds across the country. At DC Books to Prisons, we experience book restrictions with every letter we receive, and states and prisons across the country are implementing even more restrictive bans on reading material for incarcerated people, not only on what books they can read, but whether they can receive anything at all.

To help raise awareness of these book bans as well as collect books and raise funds to send them to the over 500 prisons we serve, we're working with a generous foundation on a book drive in partnership with some excellent local independent bookstores. The foundation will provide a matching dollar for dollar donation for all book purchases donated to us. That means your impact is tripled! The people we serve get books, we get money to send the books, and you support local independent bookstores! That’s a win win win!!!

We have created online wish lists of needed titles with these campaign partners - BOL Co-op, DC; East City Book Shop, DC; Friends 2 Lovers Bookstore, Alexandria (Romance mostly); Lost City Books, DC; MahoganyBooks, National Harbor (Black Authors mostly); People's Book, Takoma Park; Solid State Books, DC

Books on a bookshelf at DC Books to Prisons.

Every person deserves
access to books.

Founded in 1999, DC Books to Prisons provides free books to individual people in prison. We also support prison libraries and book clubs. Our work is done solely by unpaid volunteers using donated time and resources. DC Books to Prisons is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Washington DC.

Book packages/year

6,500+

500+

Prisons served

33

States
Donate now

Books as a bridge, for those often forgotten

Books being donated to prisons with attached letters

DC Books to Prisons works to provide a wide variety of informative, educational and enjoyable reading material, free of charge, to people incarcerated in US prisons. We prioritize those in under-served regions and respond to individual requests, whenever possible including short personal notes (which are sometimes as important as the books we send). Efforts include selected secondary projects to address the gap in resources and access to reading material.

We believe that books can change lives. They can change the way people view the world, other people, and themselves, provide an education, provide a vocabulary, and open minds to new possibilities.

Learn about our work

  • Thank you for everything that you do. You have no idea how much this not only means to us, but also helps us. Please don't ever stop.

    Robert, Tucson AZ

  • Thanks for offering books to incarcerated individuals free of charge. Our society needs more of you, and your organizations, to promote culture and education through books.

    Maurice, CA

  • I am 43 years old, from Winston-Salem NC, and I am…discovering that positive, constructive reading can transform the mis-formed negative mentality into an open, objective-minded, reality-based personality

    Darren, Raleigh NC

  • I greatly appreciate your help and assistance on my journey. May peace rest in your heart and soul…Knowledge gained, knowledge not shared, is knowledge abused!

    David, Clifton TN

  • The books you have sent to so many prisoners have changed countless lives and helped them to escape the world of prison. Additionally, many books have become educational and I have personally seen may prisoners become interested in what they have read and often ask questions concerning the topic. In a way, this restores my faith in humanity, forgiveness and compassion.

    Stephen, Pampa TX

  • I would like to thank you and your coworkers for all that you do to help incarcerated people. You all are a blessing to all of us, and I appreciate all that you do.

    Rafael, Corcoran CA

Someone siting at a table taping up packages to send.

There are many ways to make a difference.

Volunteer

Join us at our DC workspace to sort donations, pack book packages, and process requests from incarcerated readers.

Sign up to volunteer

Donate Books

We accept gently used books in most genres. Fiction, nonfiction, legal resources, and educational titles are always needed.

See what we need

Donate Money

Your donation covers postage, supplies, and helps us buy books that are in high demand but short supply.

Give a gift

Keep up with us on Instagram!

Prisons censor staggering numbers of books and other reading materials, not just for their content but for a stunning range of capricious reasons including the size of a book or the color of mailed wrapping paper. Today is the last day of our Banned
Prisons censor staggering numbers of books and other reading materials, not just for their content but for a stunning range of capricious reasons including the size of a book or the color of mailed wrapping paper. Today is the last day of our Banned Books Week book drive, where every book donated from our partner independent bookstores will be matched by a monetary donation. This is your last chance to triple your donation to help us serve the incarcerated. Check out our wishlists here - linktr.ee/dcbtp (link in bio) #BannedBooksWeek #BooksToPeopleInPrison #bookstagram
Our currently ongoing Banned Books Week matching book drive is one of the 12 ways to build a better DC this week! They don't quite explain it correctly, but we'll take the pub! They seem to have picked up one of our Instagram posts - now we know nex
Our currently ongoing Banned Books Week matching book drive is one of the 12 ways to build a better DC this week! They don't quite explain it correctly, but we'll take the pub! They seem to have picked up one of our Instagram posts - now we know next time to contact them ourselves before the book drive begins! Check it out - https://51st.news/12-ways-to-build-a-better-dc-october-6
Today and tomorrow, October 6 and 7, all books purchased from our partner local independent bookstores on bookshop*org (BOL Co-op, MahoganyBooks, Solid State Books and People’s Book) will be delivered straight to us with no shipping charge. The
Today and tomorrow, October 6 and 7, all books purchased from our partner local independent bookstores on bookshop*org (BOL Co-op, MahoganyBooks, Solid State Books and People’s Book) will be delivered straight to us with no shipping charge. The bookstores get the sales, we get the books, and you save money! And together with our currently running Banned Books Week book drive, a generous foundation will match the money spent on the books and donate it to us! Put it all together, and DCBtP will be able to answer a whole lot of letters. The matching grant book drive ends this Saturday, Oct. 10. But there has never been a better time to donate to DC Books to Prisons than today!! Help us help people here - linktr.ee/dcbtp (link in bio) #BannedBooksWeek #BooksToPeopleInPrison
Did you know prisons ban books for format, condition, content, size, quantity, source, or the made-up fear they are all dipped in fentanyl? Throughout the country individual prisons and entire states are implementing more draconian and non-nonsensica
Did you know prisons ban books for format, condition, content, size, quantity, source, or the made-up fear they are all dipped in fentanyl? Throughout the country individual prisons and entire states are implementing more draconian and non-nonsensical prison book bans. But we still serve thousands of prisoners a year from over 500 prisons! Help us send books to the incarcerated. October 4th to 10th is @banned_books_week a campaign to raise awareness of the rise of book bans of various kinds across the country. From October 4-10, a foundation is offering a dollar for dollar match for all book purchases donated to us. Help us and some independent bookstores by checking out our wish lists here - https://linktr.ee/dcbtp (link in bio)
@banned_books_week begins Sunday, with the goal of bringing attention to the growing use of book bans in the US. The most restrictive book bans occur at prisons, where society’s forgotten have been stashed and policies are implemented with no p
@banned_books_week begins Sunday, with the goal of bringing attention to the growing use of book bans in the US. The most restrictive book bans occur at prisons, where society’s forgotten have been stashed and policies are implemented with no public involvement. From October 4-10, a foundation is offering a match all book purchases donated to us. Prepare for Sunday by checking out our wish lists at linktr.ee/dcbtp (link in bio) and stay tuned all week! #BooksToPeopleInPrison #BannedBooksWeek
Role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons are frequently requested by those we serve, providing an opportunity to escape into fantasy worlds. We always need more, so big thanks to @labyrinthdc for helping us spread the word! If you have some RPGs
Role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons are frequently requested by those we serve, providing an opportunity to escape into fantasy worlds. We always need more, so big thanks to @labyrinthdc for helping us spread the word! If you have some RPGs to donate stop by the shop to get some info or email us at btopdc@gmail.com
Big Thanks to our neighborhood pizza place @protestpizzadc for the free pies for our packing party! Protest is more than a neighborhood pizza shop— it’s a welcoming, community minded business that supports the people and organizations doi
Big Thanks to our neighborhood pizza place @protestpizzadc for the free pies for our packing party! Protest is more than a neighborhood pizza shop— it’s a welcoming, community minded business that supports the people and organizations doing good work around us. And the food is great! With our bellies full we packed over 125 packages to send off to those we serve.
Big thanks to @mahoganybooks for inviting us to table and speak about our org at their very awesome @acevedowrites book talk last night at the @dcpubliclibrary MLK branch!
Big thanks to @mahoganybooks for inviting us to table and speak about our org at their very awesome @acevedowrites book talk last night at the @dcpubliclibrary MLK branch!
Black August is an annual commemoration and prison-based holiday to remember Black political prisoners, Black freedom struggles in the United States and beyond, and to highlight Black resistance against racial, colonial and imperialist oppression, in
Black August is an annual commemoration and prison-based holiday to remember Black political prisoners, Black freedom struggles in the United States and beyond, and to highlight Black resistance against racial, colonial and imperialist oppression, initiated by a group of incarcerated people in San Quentin State Prison in 1979 to commemorate the deaths of Jonathan P. Jackson (d. August 7, 1970) and George Jackson (d. August 21, 1971) at the prison. Check out our Solid State wish list online for related titles and they’ll be delivered directly to DC Books to Prisons! Every book we receive will be used to fulfill an incarcerated individual’s request. https://linktr.ee/dcbtp (link in bio)
Big thanks to @eatonhotel.dc for hosting a book drop/swap for us yesterday! The weather was bad outside but we left with the three big bags of books we'll send to those we serve.
Big thanks to @eatonhotel.dc for hosting a book drop/swap for us yesterday! The weather was bad outside but we left with the three big bags of books we'll send to those we serve.
Prisons censor staggering numbers of books and other reading materials, not just for their content but for a stunning range of capricious reasons including the size of a book or the color of mailed wrapping paper. Today is the last day of our Banned Our currently ongoing Banned Books Week matching book drive is one of the 12 ways to build a better DC this week! They don't quite explain it correctly, but we'll take the pub! They seem to have picked up one of our Instagram posts - now we know nex Today and tomorrow, October 6 and 7, all books purchased from our partner local independent bookstores on bookshop*org (BOL Co-op, MahoganyBooks, Solid State Books and People’s Book) will be delivered straight to us with no shipping charge. The Did you know prisons ban books for format, condition, content, size, quantity, source, or the made-up fear they are all dipped in fentanyl? Throughout the country individual prisons and entire states are implementing more draconian and non-nonsensica @banned_books_week begins Sunday, with the goal of bringing attention to the growing use of book bans in the US. The most restrictive book bans occur at prisons, where society’s forgotten have been stashed and policies are implemented with no p Role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons are frequently requested by those we serve, providing an opportunity to escape into fantasy worlds. We always need more, so big thanks to @labyrinthdc for helping us spread the word! If you have some RPGs Big Thanks to our neighborhood pizza place @protestpizzadc for the free pies for our packing party! Protest is more than a neighborhood pizza shop— it’s a welcoming, community minded business that supports the people and organizations doi Big thanks to @mahoganybooks for inviting us to table and speak about our org at their very awesome @acevedowrites book talk last night at the @dcpubliclibrary MLK branch! Black August is an annual commemoration and prison-based holiday to remember Black political prisoners, Black freedom struggles in the United States and beyond, and to highlight Black resistance against racial, colonial and imperialist oppression, in Big thanks to @eatonhotel.dc for hosting a book drop/swap for us yesterday! The weather was bad outside but we left with the three big bags of books we'll send to those we serve.