Books to Prisoners (Seattle)

@bookstoprisoners.bsky.social

395 Followers 96 Following

Seattle nonprofit mailing free books to incarcerated people in the United States. Advocating for access to education and communication in prisons since 1973. Bookstoprisoners.net

Excerpt from article linked in quoted post. The text of the excerpt: "Inmates were recently granted access to e-books on their tablets, but only public domain books were available, meaning that they can only access books published before 1931. The e-books are available for free, Roembach [a spokesperson for NMCD] said."
A photograph of Kris Fulsaas in front of a red and white poster hanging on a white wall celebrating 50 years of operation for Books to Prisoners. Kris is smiling widely. She has a ponytail and is wearing a blue sweater and jeans.
Rectangular Giving Tuesday 2025 graphic for Books to Prisoners. It has a beige-gray background color. The Giving Tuesday logo is toward the top of the graphic in black. Halfway down the graphic, two arms in the style of sketched drawings, outstretched, in black pencil, reach toward each other from the edges of the graphic. One is turned palm up, the other is turned palm down. A red heart, also in the style of a sketch drawing, hovers between the arms. Below the arms, in black font: "The gift of books." Below that, "www.bookstoprisoners.net" is written in red font. Below that, "December 2, 2025" is written in black font. All writing is the same width, extending three-quarters across the graphic from the center.
Thank you letter on lined paper handwritten to Books to Prisoners: "12 AUG 25 To the great people who give their time, Thank you so much for the Japanese usage guide you sent. It is a wonderful reference to enhance my study of Japanese language. In learning to write letters in Japanese I have discovered that our salutations are replaced with seasonal greetings. The one included above translates to: Shoka noe yoo na atatakala ga tsuzuite orimasu, "The weather is warm, as if it were early summer." It has in fact been unbearable hot, but to complain would be rude. This book is sure to be helpful as I progress in my studies. Mazu wa o-rei made (Just to express thanks)"
Thank you graphic for Banned Books Week 2025, made by Books to Prisoners Seattle. The top half has a bright blue background. On top of the background is light yellow scribbled text reading "THANK YOU!". The words are tilted at an angle. This text partially covers a sketchbook-style drawing of three stacked hardcover books. The books are outlined in black but they are colored blue, like the background. Beneath the bright blue section is a section with a white background. In the same font as above is written: "332 PAPERBACKS GIFTED TO BOOKS TO PRISONERS SEATTLE/$6,225 RAISED FOR NEW BOOKS". At the bottom right of the graphic is a line of light yellow text reading "BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2025". At the very bottom right corner is the orange and blue logo for Books to Prisoners Seattle, which is a square logo with an open book in the middle whose pages are turning to birds flying into the sky.
Promotional graphic for Prison Banned Books Week 2025. The background is olive green. At the top left corner is the black and transparent logo for PBBW (a bird flying over four stacked rectangles reading PRISON BANNED BOOKS WEEK. At the top right corner in charcoal gray scribbled font: OCTOBER 19-25. Spanning the middle is a photograph of a rejected package of books from Books to Prisoners. Scrawled on the shiny wrapping material, in thick black Sharpie: USED BOOKS NOT ALLOWED. At the bottom, inside a drawing of a black and transparent wavy banner, in black scribbled font: BOOKS NOT BANS.
Graphic for a matching grant for Banned Books Week 2025. 5 partnering bookstores are listed on top of a photo of a blue sign saying BOOKSTORE OPEN. The bookstores are: Queen Anne Book Company, Third Place Books, Phinney Books, Couth Buzzard, and Charlie's Queer Books. The graphic also lists the dates of Banned Books Week (October 5 through October 11).
Page 1 of a rejection letter from Florida Department of Corrections, addressed to Books to Prisoners Seattle. Dated May 2025.
A smiling, 5'10" man is laying on wood flooring next to 5 stuffed containers of envelopes. He is wearing a white t-shirt with a vintage logo for Books to Prisoners Seattle, tan short, brown socks with red and yellow stripes, and brown shoes. The containers stretch from the top of his head to the bottom of his shoes.
Rejection letter to Rogue Liberation Library from FCI Marion, a federal prison in Marion, Illinois. The rejected book is a Batman graphic novel and the letter is dated March 24, 2025. It is typed in black ink on white paper. The reason is listed as follows: "Due to recent attempts to introduce prohibited substances through incoming publications, we will be implementing a policy to reject incoming publications including graphic novels, manga, comics, comic-strip books, coloring books, and any other cartoon-related books."
Handwritten letter. Black ink on white paper. Letter reads: "I was lucky enough to be the recipient of your donated HVAC textbook. I want to write to thank you so much. I could get out in December. I was making about $14.00 an hour as unskilled labor at construction sites. With the knowledge of HVAC and other climate control skills my market value has been raised to about $20.00 an hour. I lived in a homeless shelter in Reno, NV because $14.00 can't pay the rent, never mind other expenses. Now I can get out and make an honest living. I love doing maintenance & engineering work. Now I can have the skills with other things I study to succeed. You were a large part of that with your donation! So thank you again."
Promotional picture for t-shirts sold for Wheel of Time Convention. Text reads "GET MERCH FOR A GOOD CAUSE! AVAILABLE TIL JULY 31". The logo for the Wheel of Time Convention is in the bottom right. It is a black vortex above the letters "WoTCon". Pictures of three t-shirts are in the middle. The top t-shirt is black, with a rainbow WoTCon logo. Below it is a blue t-shirt reading "Tar Valon Harbor Master". At the bottom is a red t-shirt with a white silhouette of a person blowing a raised horn. The text reads "Let Joe Blow".
Thank you graphic from Books to Prisoners Seattle for GiveBIG. It is a slightly altered version of a previous graphic, which has the heading "SUMMER OF STAMPS". This version has text at the bottom reading "You raised postage for 996 packages!"
Handwritten letter, with black ink on white, lined paper, addressed to Left Bank Books. Our programs started together in 1973, and they generously continue to serve as our mailing address. Text: "Hello Left Bank Books, It is my pleasure to write and thank you that your gift to me (the books you have sent) is a gift to many! I looked around last night and realized that 9 people have a book they borrowed from me. And they return them only to borrow another which is my joy to be able to bless them with an escape, a treasure, a good book to provide a comfort that us "readers" know only to be found in the pages of a good book! So I thank you Left Bank and wish you the best on life's journey! I've found in my 49 years of life that "It's the little things in life that turn out to be the big things after all!" You're a gift to mankind one book at a time; however, in my case, one book is read by countless people!! There are a couple other places who have sent me...us...with books also, and I will write my thanks to them as well. It is a good thing you guys do. Bless your hearts! I am leaving here in August and this will be my final letter to you on this leg of my journey at least."
Rejection notification from a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, dated April 25, 2025. A comic book and a coloring book are listed as rejected items. The rationale written by warden S. Merendino is: "Due to recent attempts to introduce prohibited substances through incoming publications, we will be implementing a policy to reject all incoming publications"
Promotional graphic for GiveBIG event for Books to Prisoners. White background with colorful stamps in the middle. "SUMMER OF" is written at the top of the graphic with each letter colored in by photos of stamps. "STAMPS" is written below, in white font on a background of stamps. A large white circle below that, and on the right side of the document, has the logo for GiveBIG as well as the date of the event (May 6-7). A facsimile of wavy ink that is stamped onto a letter to indicate the origin of a letter is superimposed around the edge of thr circle. At the bottom of the graphic, in blue typewriter font on a white background, is written "HELP SHIP 3,500 packages of books FOR OUR PATRONS". The logo for Books to Prisoners is on the bottom right of the graphic on a white background.
Photograph of Long Hair Dave. The photograph is a still image from a video clip embedded in the Filter article. It shows a smiling man in his late 20s or 30s with long brown hair, wearing a dark colored hat and dark colored clothing. The man is sitting on a step. His right arm is raised and his left arm is moving out toward the camera; he appears to be demonstrating an action or explaining something to the camera. A chainlink fence is behind him. A backpack is resting by his feet, but only the top is visible in this photograph.
Animated promo for Independent Bookstore Day 2025 for Books to Prisoners. Animation contains an orange background with a white rectangle on the top half of the animation and a tan rectangle at the bottom half. Text in the white rectangle appears from left to right at an even speed. There are two lines of text at top and two dates on the left side. The logo for Books to Prisoners (orange and blue colors, showing an outline of an open book with pages turning into birds flying into the sky) is on the right side. Text reads "Independent Bookstore Day 2025", "Double your donation to Books to Prisoners". Dates on the left side of the rectangle read "April 21-May 5". The tan rectangle on the bottom half shows the names of seven partnering bookstores. More information about these bookstores can be found in the link in the post. Writing in the style of a black permanent marker appears over the other images and text. The black text reads "FINAL WEEK!"
A photo of the interior of a bookstore. At the center of the photo is a vertical display of books with several rows. The floor is red. Bookshelves line the sides of the photograph. Book subjects in the central display include math books, drawing books, novels, and folk tales. A black and white laminated sign taped to the front of the display shows a graphic of a barcode and hands holding the bars in mimicry of hands holding the bars on a cell door. The sign reads "Books to Prisoners/25% OFF". A second laminated black and white sign propped in the middle of the display reads "Buy a book for a friend in prison" with smaller font explaining the partnership with Books to Prisoners.
Photo of a wooden table containing organized stacks of books. Books include Spanish-English dictionaries, law dictionaries, instructive drawing books, and "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander. A small chalkboard sign in the middle of the stacks reads "Donate books to Books to Prisoners". Another small orange and white paper sign nearby reads "Donate any book in the store! These are some suggestions."
Wooden bookshelf with comics and manga. Two white pieces of papers on a brown paper sign are behind the shelf. The papers describe the mission and operations of Books to Prisoners Seattle as well as the promotion for Independent Bookstore Day, which runs from April 21 through May 5. For every book purchased from the special display of books, to be donated to Books to Prisoners Seattle, a donor will match the amount of that purchase, to allow Books to Prisoners to buy even more new books to send to incarcerated readers.
Informational flyer for Independent Bookstore Day with Books to Prisoners 2025. The flyer has white and tan rectangles on a bright orange background. The top rectangle is white and lists the dates of the promotion (April 21-May 5) and has text explaining that donations will be doubled. If you buy books from special displays and online wishlists at the seven partner bookstores listed below during those days, the purchases will be matched by a donor! Below the white rectangle is a tan rectangle listing seven bookstores (Charlie's Queer Books, Couth Buzzard, Left Bank Books, Outsider Comics, Phinney Books, Queen Anne Book Company, and Third Place Books).
A man in a white shirt stands, holding a black and white sign reading "Buku Beyond Bars". Graphics of barbed wire are scattered around the sign. The man holds a black and yellow book, and piles of books are on a white folding table in front of him. Even more books are in white bookshelves on the edge of the room. Behind the man is a sign reading "Malaysian Cemter for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR)". The shoulders, arms, and camera of a person in a white shirt are visible on the left side of this photograph. That person appears to be taking a photograph of the man holding the yellow and black book.
Promotional flyer for an Independent Bookstore Day event for Books to Prisoners, running April 21-May 5. A list of 7 partnering bookstores is at the bottom (Charlie's Queer Books, Couth Buzzard, Left Bank Books, Outside Comics, Phinney Books, Queen Anne Book Company, and Third Place Books).
Promo for Independent Bookstore Day with list of 6 partnering bookstores.
Excerpt from a preliminary injunction detailing failures of Tensas Parish Detention Center to allow access to reading materials. The case is Normand v. Bass et al.
Shelves of books at Books to Prisoners
An open blue door, looking through to an empty room with an open orange door.
Festive gold, red, and green baubles on a wooden table, including small gold ornaments, a pine bough, and a red envelope. A white sheet of paper is on top of the red envelope. Written on the white sheet of paper are the signatures of Kate Reading and Michael Kramer.
Picture of a person in orange jumpsuit with a book in hands. Words from people in prison, centering on the impact of books, are written on the left. This image is taken from the page for the petition.
Bookshelves full of books at Books to Prisoners.
Packages of wrapped books waiting to be mailed at Books Through Bars San Diego. A wall of shelves of zines is in the back.
Piles of boxes of books and empty bookshelves in an office.
Excerpt from a handwritten thank you letter sent by from an incarcerated person who received a copy of "Prisoner's Self-Help Litigation Manual" from Books to Prisoners.
Promotional graphic for Giving Tuesday 2024. Tan background. At the top, two hands hold a Polaroid with the logo for Books to Prisoners. The logo for Giving Tuesday is on the side. Below the hands, in squiggly blue font: "Give the gift of reading". The date of Giving Tuesday (December 3, 2024) and a link to the website of Books to Prisoners (www.bookstoprisoners.net) is written at the bottom.
Graphic thanking The Stitch Crypt for fundraising for Books to Prisoners. Background is yellow with red graphics mimicking cross stitches around the border and as hearts. The logo for The Stitch Crypt (a skull with scissors and a needle) is in the center. Gray text in a funky font above and below the logo reads: "$5,000 raised for incarcerated readers/Thank you".
Screenshot of article with a quote from an Ohio prison official allowing Mein Kampf.
Screenshot of list of books banned by Michigan Department of Correction. Books include a title by Maya Angelou and many books about starting businesses, including a trucking business.
Rejection notice for Black Boy by Richard Wright. One checkmark indicates the given reason for rejection was an assumption that the book was written to disrupt the prison. A second checkmark indicates that after review from a committee, the rejection was overturned.
Handwritten letter from a person in prison describing the lack of a library at the prison. This person is also requesting historical fiction from Books to Prisoners. Dated 1-18-2020.