In case you missed it: this wonderful profile of the work we do at the Prisoners Literature Project was posted on the Oakland North website last month:
Thanks to Sabine Berzina, the writer of the piece, for doing such a conscientious and well-contextualized piece on the PLP – much appreciated!
More issues with U.S. states banning book donations to prisoners – this time in Ohio:
OHIO BECOMES LATEST STATE TO ATTEMPT TO STOP BOOK DONATIONS TO INCARCERATED: https://bookriot.com/2019/05/09/ohio-prison-book-ban/
” Last month, we reported on Washington’s Department of Justice’s new policy that banned used book donations from nonprofits from entering into the prison system. This month, it’s been uncovered that officials in Ohio have been working toward banning books donated to prisoners with their own policy changes.”
Please read & contact officials to tell them this is a terrible idea!
Good news – the ban on used books being sent to prisoners in Washington State has largely been resolved, as the Seattle Times explained last week.
(Though there’s still some negotiation over details, there will now be named non-profits who are allowed to donate directly to prisoners, and PLP will be one of them.)
Thanks to everyone who signed a petition or otherwise sent good thoughts, and special thanks to Seattle Books To Prisoners for arranging the pushback.
Unfortunately, another state has decided to interfere in the efforts of countless books to prisoners organizations, as Washington State decided to ban used books being sent to inmates.
Fortunately, the local Seattle Books To Prisoners group (which sends countrywide) is one of the strongest in the nation, and immediately started campaigning against the move.
If you’d like to help, please sign the below petition and also check out what else B2P Seattle has to say on its Twitter feed – you can help!
Here’s a new set of thank you letters from prisoners, as discovered at a recent Prisoners Literature Project session.
Happy 2019 (imminently!) from the Prisoners Literature Project – thanks to everyone for supporting us through a busy & productive 2018! The prisoners we serve really appreciate it. More info…
Here’s a couple of thank you letters from prisoners that the Prisoners Literature Project received recently. More info…
We just wanted to thank two very generous authors for their donations to the Prisoners Literature Project – both of which have significantly helped the organization. More info…
The Prisoners Literature Project is an all-volunteer grassroots group that sends hundreds of free book packages to needy prisoners in the United States every month.
