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.
Please note recent updates since our last publication:
Compassion Works For All has closed (see listing in Religious Programs)
Missouri Prison Books: Now sending to Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana. Is banned in Missouri, since Sept 23, 2024
The Pathfinder Network: correct phone is 503-892-5396
Providence Books Through Bars c/o Paper Nautilus 19 S Angell Street Providence RI 02906
Women’s Book Project 3501 Aldrich Ave. S, Minneapolis MN 55408
PDX Books Through Bars: ships up to 3 books for free to anyone incarcerated in all states except Wisconsin. General topics/genres only. PO Box 11222; Portland OR, 97211
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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. May request every 3 months. Include several choices of preferred subject, genre, or author. |
Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs |
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Books to Prisons Alabama Provides free books and magazines for the incarcerated in AL & TX only. No County or local jails. Write to request by genres, authors or subject matter. |
Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs |
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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.
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Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs |
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DC Books to Prisoners Request free reading material by mail. Sends books to state and federal prisoners in AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, DE, GA, HI, IA, IN, KY, LA, MD, MN, MS, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, and WY as well as federal prisoners (only) in AR, ID, and KS and requests from DC residents in federal prisons in all states. Please wait 5 months between requests. |
Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs |
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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, Newsletters and Magazines |
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Edward R. Hamilton Books Update: expect long delays. Vendor of overstock and bargain books, some hardbound and
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Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Vendors and Publishers |
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Freebird Publishers Offers prisoner titles over 60 plus to choose from 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 made in the USA. Send a pre-addressed, stamped envelope for a packet of color brochures. To see more, it's best to order their 98-page color catalog, send $5, and add $7 more for shipping with 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 serve inmates. Order online, 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 at @freebirdpublishers, PayPal at me/freebirdpublishers. |
Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Vendors and Publishers |
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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 |
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Great Falls Books Through Bars Provides free books to people incarcerated in Federal facilities nationwide and state facilities in CA, FL, and TX only. Write to request |
Books, Magazines, and Publishers, Free Books Programs |
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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 |