Prison Books Collective

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Carrboro, NC
Prison Books Collective

Prison Books Collective is an NC-based nonprofit founded in 2006 that sends hundreds of books to people in NC and AL prisons and jails each month.

05/30/2026

We often hear from incarcerated people how the books, resources, and zines sent by PBC are sources of entertainment, education, and joy. This work, and every contribution to it, makes real, tangible impacts on the lives of incarcerated folks.

05/09/2026

Donate paperback books to imprisoned readers during the Raleigh Really Really Free Market on Sunday, May 10 between 11am and 1pm!! 🫶📚

Look for volunteers with signs! Read below for more information.

Can’t make it in person? Head to the link in our bio to help fulfill our wishlists at local independent bookstores 📚

RULES: Please, only GOOD CONDITION PAPERBACKS of the topics listed below. No hardcover, spiral-bound, or marked-in books. We cannot use content about tattooing or with pictures of nudity. If you bring a part of a series, please bring all the books that came before it too! (Preferably rubberbanded together.)

ACCEPTED BOOK GENRES AND TOPICS BELOW!

❤️ We are in particular need of SPANISH FICTION! ❤️

Beginner’s computer science (only *recent* books)
Books in Spanish (any type for general audiences)
Business and nonprofit guides
Christian fiction
Cookbooks
Dictionaries & thesauruses
DIY/Labor (e.g., carpentry, automotive repair)
Drawing/coloring as well as sudoku + other activity books
Exercise/yoga
Fantasy books (only bring sequels if you bring all the ones before it, and please rubberband series together!)
Foreign language dictionaries
GED prep books
Graphic novels (no nudity)
Homesteading/wilderness survival
Horror
Large print books of all kinds for general audiences
Law (criminal + civil)
Manga
Math/Science
Pagan/New Age
General psychology
Sci-Fi (only bring sequels if you bring all the ones before it, and please rubberband series together!)
Self-help
Thrillers
True Crime
Urban Fiction
Westerns

05/02/2026

It’s the last day to purchase a book from our wishlists and have the cost of the book matched — no limit to matching! Thanks for supporting PBC and independent bookstores. Find our wishlists at the link in our bio. 🤍

05/01/2026

Donate books to imprisoned readers on Saturday, May 2 from 1-2 PM at the Carrboro Town Commons parking lot – we’ll be there right before the Carrboro Really Really Free Market!!

Look for volunteers with signs! Read below for more information.

Can’t make it in person? Head to the link in our bio to help fulfill our wishlists at local independent bookstores 📚 Through 5/2, if you buy books from our wishlists at , , or we will receive a matching monetary donation!!! 🫶🫶

👀 And be on the lookout for additional donation events later in May - more soon!!

RULES: Please, only GOOD CONDITION PAPERBACKS of the topics listed below. No hardcover, spiral-bound, or marked-in books. We cannot use content about tattooing or with pictures of nudity. If you bring a part of a series, please bring all the books that came before it too! (Preferably rubberbanded together.)

ACCEPTED BOOK GENRES AND TOPICS:
Beginner’s computer science (only *recent* books)
Books in Spanish (any type for general audiences)
Business and nonprofit guides
Christian fiction
Cookbooks
Dictionaries & thesauruses
DIY/Labor (e.g., carpentry, automotive repair)
Drawing/coloring as well as sudoku + other activity books
Exercise/yoga
Fantasy books (only bring sequels if you bring all the ones before it, and please rubberband series together!)
Foreign language dictionaries
GED prep books
Graphic novels (no nudity)
Homesteading/wilderness survival
Horror
Large print books of all kinds for general audiences
Law (criminal + civil)
Manga
Math/Science
Pagan/New Age
General psychology
Sci-Fi (only bring sequels if you bring all the ones before it, and please rubberband series together!)
Self-help
Thrillers
True Crime
Urban Fiction
Westerns

Books that don’t fit these categories or rules will be given to the Carrboro Really Really Free Market 🫶

04/30/2026

Three more days for our matching fundraiser! Purchasing a $20 book from our wishlist will also cover the postage for four packages. Help us meet increasing demand for books while keeping up with rising postage costs. 📚✉️ Wishlist links in our bio.

04/27/2026

Independent Bookstore Week continues! Check out the wishlists in our link in bio to support our readers with a book, PBC with a matching donation, and a local independent bookstore with your business! 📚 all wishlist purchased matched through 5/2.

04/26/2026

Take a look at some of our wishlist books to see which bundle speaks to you 🤍 The kinds of books on our wishlists are the most requested and hardest to source material. Consider purchasing a book at one of our partner bookstores (, , and ) and your purchase will be matched with a monetary donation through 5/2! Wishlist links in bio.

04/25/2026

It’s Independent Bookstore Day!

From 4/25 - 5/2, we’re partnering with local Triangle bookstores Flyleaf, Golden Fig and Quail Ridge to fulfill our wishlists.

The best part is that every single book purchased will have a monetary match. So your $15 paperback becomes $30 of support. Every contribution is doubled.

The wishlists include what folks ask for most often, that we struggle to source through donations: almanacs, coloring books, legal self-help, DIY manuals, LGBTQ+ titles, and fiction of every kind.

You can shop in person or online, and each store has its own wishlist linked in our bio.

Independent bookstores, books for people inside, and a generous match...three good things at once!

04/16/2026

Book sale to benefit PBC at UNC — RIGHT NOW! From 11:30-1:30 Thursday, 4/16, and 10:30-2 Friday, 4/17 in The Pit!
Thanks to Alpha Phi Omega for hosting a sale of books that don't quite match our stock needs (e.g., hardcovers), helping us fundraise!

04/10/2026

Donate paperback books to imprisoned readers during the Raleigh Really Really Free Market on Sunday, April 12 between 11am and 1pm!! 🫶📚

Look for volunteers with signs! Read below for more information.

Can’t make it in person? Swipe or head to the link in our bio to help fulfill our wishlists at local independent bookstores 📚

👀 And be on the lookout for an upcoming donation event Durham later in April - more soon!!

RULES: Please, only GOOD CONDITION PAPERBACKS of the topics listed below. No hardcover, spiral-bound, or marked-in books. We cannot use content about tattooing or with pictures of nudity. If you bring a part of a series, please bring all the books that came before it too! (Preferably rubberbanded together.)

ACCEPTED BOOK GENRES AND TOPICS:
Beginner’s computer science (only *recent* books)
Books in Spanish (any type for general audiences)
Business and nonprofit guides
Christian fiction
Cookbooks
Dictionaries & thesauruses
DIY/Labor (e.g., carpentry, automotive repair)
Drawing/coloring as well as sudoku + other activity books
Exercise/yoga
Fantasy books (only bring sequels if you bring all the ones before it, and please rubberband series together!)
Foreign language dictionaries
GED prep books
Graphic novels (no nudity)
Homesteading/wilderness survival
Horror
Large print books of all kinds for general audiences
Law (criminal + civil)
Manga
Math/Science
Pagan/New Age
General psychology
Sci-Fi (only bring sequels if you bring all the ones before it, and please rubberband series together!)
Self-help
Thrillers
True Crime
Urban Fiction
Westerns

Address

PO Box 625
Carrboro, NC
27510

Website

http://prisonbooks.info/

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