DC Books to Prisons

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DC Books to Prisons

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DC Books to Prisons (BtP) works to provide books to prisoners by responding to individual inmates' requests and supporting prison libraries.

BtP provides prisoners with inspiration, compassion, and education through the joy of reading.

10/06/2026

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 - https://linktr.ee/dcbtp

10/04/2026

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 (bannedbooksweek.org), 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

10/02/2026

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 tomorrow by checking out our wish lists at linktr.ee/dcbtp and stay tuned for details!

08/11/2026

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

08/01/2026

This Sunday come donate some books and celebrate James Baldwin's birthday with us at the Eaton House in DC!

07/09/2026

In 2018 the cost of a one-pound media mail package was $2.66 while today the one-pound rate is $4.47, and most packages we send are two or three pounds each. We receive no government funding and all the work we do is done by unpaid volunteers and financed by donors like you. We would like to raise $5,000 to help cover postage for the next few months, so please consider helping DC Books to Prisons with our shipping costs by donating today at linktr.ee/dcbtp. Thank you for supporting the work of DC Books to Prisons!

05/19/2026

The President Lincoln Cottage Museum is holding a book drive for us this month! If you're in the neighborhood visit a very cool museum and help send books to the incarcerated! www.lincolncottage.org

05/04/2026

Big Thanks to everyone who donated books to DC BtP over the last week! This was our most successful book drive ever and that could not have been done without all of you. We also want to thank our partner indie bookstores for their support! WE couldn’t have done this in the first place without you! Always remember that each book donated and sent to an incarcerated person means more than just giving somebody something to read, it offers them hope, education, and escape, and remind them they are not alone in the world. We always take monetary or book donations – linktr.ee/dcbtp

05/01/2026

Don’t wait any longer! Tomorrow is the last day of our matching book drive. Help improve someone’s life by donating books purchased in-store or online which will be cash matched by a generous donor. Help us out and support an independent bookstore at the same time! Check out our online wishlists here – linktr.ee/dcbtp

04/30/2026

We'll be here Saturday May 2! Come by and say hi and expand your perspectives! https://withfriends.co/event/27952007/working_class_literature_festival_washington_dc

Address

Washington D.C., DC
20036

Website

http://www.dcbookstoprisons.org/

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Contact The Organization

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Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund
400 I Street, SW

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