Resources: Books, Magazines, and Publishers

PARC corresponds with and mails a directory of these resources to prisoners, their friends and family members. We are often the first point of contact for people to connect with prisoners' rights organizations, community organizations, prison literature and arts projects, family and visiting resources, health care and legal resources, parole and pre-release resources, and the prison abolition movement.

Download a PDF copy of the November 2024 Edition here.

Resource Category
Alabama Books to Prisons Project

Run through the Burdock Book Collective, this program fulfills book requests for people incarcerated in Alabama prisons. LGBTQA friendly: "As queers and allies ourselves, we aim to provide a space for personal expression and communication free from homophobia and transphobia. Alabama only.


 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Anarchist Black Cross Los Angeles

ABC is on the frontline in supporting those imprisoned for struggling for freedom and liberty with a focus  on the overall support and defense of political prisoners and prisoners of war. The ABC Federation is a collective of ABC groups working together to better support anarchist and "class war" political prisoners and prisoners of war. Write for information on political prisoners and for addresses of other chapters in Bakersfield CA, Inland Empire CA, Orange County, Lancaster PA, Philadelphia PA, and New York City.


 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Newsletters and Magazines
Appalachian Prison Book Project

The Appalachian Prison Book Project (APBP) sends free books and provides educational opportunities to people incarcerated in the Appalachian region. We serve six states: Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. You can request by topic area or title, and we will do our best to find a good book for you.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Asheville Prison Books

Sends free reading material to folks incarcerated in North Carolina and South Carolina, including county jails, detention centers, state prisons, and federal facilities.  They do not have a catalogue, but try to match requests to books as best they can. Serves people in North Carolina and South Carolina only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Athens Books to Prisoners

Athens Books to Prisoners is a volunteer-run organization that sends free books to prisoners in Ohio only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Big House Books

A volunteer-run nonprofit sending books to inmates in Mississippi correctional facilities since 2015. Mississippi only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Books Behind Bars - New Jersey

A grassroots, volunteer-run prison abolition project that provides free books upon request to people incarcerated in New Jersey prisons. Please include your name, ID number, facility name, address, and the kind of books you want. Since all of our books are donated, we can't guarantee exact titles (though we do our best). New Jersey only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Books Behind Bars - Virginia

Serves people incarcerated in Virginia only.  Write with requests for up to three books per month.  They will do their best to fulfill all requests, but cannot guarantee specific title availability. 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Books Through Bars

Free books across the Eastern Seaboard. Sends to DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA & VA only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Books to Prisoners (Seattle)

Provides free reading materials to incarcerated individuals. Most books are used; limited access to new books. Write directly to request (no requests by email or phone). Serves people nationwide. Typical turnaround is 2+ months; people in short-term facilities should note in their request how long they anticipate being incarcerated.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Books to Prisons Alabama

Free book project covering Alabama and Texas. Write with general requests.


 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Davis Books to Prisoners

We carry FREE books on many topics (please request by topic, not title or author) and specialize in the following:  History (world), Black, Latino Native American and Asian Studies, Women’s studies / feminism, Labor studies / unionism, Philosophy, Sociology, and Literary Classics. We serve nationally and send 3-6 books at a time.


 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
DC Books to Prisoners

Request free reading material by mail. Sends books to state and federal prisoners in AK, AL, AR, CA, CO, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, and WY as well as federal prisoners (only) in AZ and requests from DC residents in federal prisons in all states. Please wait 5 months between requests.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
East Bay Prisoner Support

Formed in 2007 as a prison abolitionist, anti-authoritarian collective. Write to receive a catalog of anarchist, decolonial, queer liberation, anti-capitalist, black, brown and indigenous-oriented literature (zines), sent free to prisoners in any state. También enviamos literatura gratuita en español.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers
Edward R. Hamilton Books

Vendor of overstock and bargain books, some hardbound and
others paperbound (type of binding listed in catalogs). Sends out
FREE book catalogs, organized by the following subject areas: Arts
& Education; Fiction; Healthy Living; History; Home & Garden;
Biography; Cookbooks; Military History; Craft/Needlecrafts; Science
& Nature; New Arrivals; and Bargain Books. Serves people
nationally.


 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Vendors and Publishers
Freebird Publishers

Offers prisoner titles such as Cell Chef Cookbook, Life With A Record,
Start Thinking Outside Prison, Post-Conviction Relief series, Habeas Corpus
Manual, and many books, guides, photos, and a wide variety of gifts,
all make in USA. Send a pre-addressed, stamped envelope for packet of
color brochures. To see more, best to order their 92 page color catalog, send $5.
and add $5. more for shipping and tracking. Produces Inmate Shopper
(current issues always available) which is America’s largest book of resources
for inmate services plus many other sections of reading and entertainment.
PARC recommends the Inmate Shopper because it reviews and rates many
businesses that service inmates. Order on line, by text, email or mail
by sending payment of $29.99 (includes shipping & tracking) to the address
listed at @freebirdpublishers. Cash App at $freebird publishers, venmo@freebirdpublishers,
PayPal.me/freebirdpublishers.


 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Vendors and Publishers
Grant Publications

 Magazine subscription services with years of experience servicing inmates. Send SASE for more information. Order any five (5) magazine subscriptions and get one (1) year magazine subscription for free from specially marked list with (*). Serves people nationwide.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Newsletters and Magazines
Great Falls Books Through Bars

Provides free books to people incarcerated around the US. Write to request specific titles, authors, and or general types of books you're interested in. If we don't have exact titles or authors on hand, we will do our best to send a close match from books available. Serves: federal facilities and CA, TX, and FL state facilities.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Haymarket Books

Haymarket Books is a nonprofit, radical book distributor and publisher based in Chicago. They believe that activists need to take ideas, history, and politics into the many struggles for social justice today. The books they offer reflect their values and are mostly non-fiction. Write to request free books on themes around Black liberation, radical history, women’s liberation, and poetry. Serves people nationally.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Vendors and Publishers
Inside Books Project

Sends free books and literature to prisoners in Texas only. Also sends a very informative prisoner resource guide free to prisoners in all states. Free or with donation of 2 loose first class stamps. Please no SASE. Serves people in Texas prisons only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
LGBT Books to Prisoners

Volunteer-run organization that sends books and other educational materials, free of charge, to LGBT-identified people in prison across the US (except those in TX). Will send books in Spanish (enviar libros en Español). Sends one package of books per year.  Prefers requests by topic/genre, but can occasionally fulfill specific requests. Serves all states except Texas.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Liberation Library

The only organization that provides books of their choosing to youth in Illinois prisons. Volunteer-run. Write for a catalog of options.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Liberation Lit

The only organization that provides books of their choosing to youth in Illinois prisons. Volunteer-run. Write for a catalog of options. Illinois only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Lopez Books

Books to prisoners program serving Washington and Alaska only. Send with general requests by genre and/or topic.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners

Write in your book requests by topic or genre, or have a friend print the optional order form from our website and mail to you. Spanish resources available. No law books. Sends books to people who are locked up in jails, prisons, and ICE facilities in Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Midwest Books to Prisoners

Midwest Pages to Prisoners provides free books and zines to prisoners in the Midwest. Serves only AR, IA, IN, KS, ND, OK, & SD.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project

Midwest Pages to Prisoners provides free books and zines to prisoners in these ten Midwest states only: AR, IA, IN, KS, MN, MO, ND, NE, OK, & SD. In your letter, please tell us what type of reading material you are interested in—sharing subjects and genres of interest is most helpful. 


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Missouri Prison Books Program

Abolitionist group of volunteers sending books to individuals incarcerated in Missouri and Kansas only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
NYC Books Through Bars

Write for free books from a large assortment of fiction and non-fiction, including political and history books, and other educational books. Does not send religious texts. Fills requests from all states except AL, FL, LA, MA, MI, MS, NC, PA, OH, and WI. Priority for New York prisoners.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs
Open Books & the Prison Book Project

The Prison Book Project sends free books to indigent prisoners in Florida prisons. Serves people in Florida only.


Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs

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