Impact

Prisoners Literature Project sends new and secondhand books at no cost to people in prisons, jails, and other carceral facilities across the United States and its territories.

Years of continuous operation

1,294

Facilities where PLP has sent books to people behind bars

Our impact

Year to date, January-September 2026

47,397

Books mailed

About half meet new or like-new standards

15,799

Requests answered

Each one an individual letter from a person behind bars

Volunteers

404

Active volunteers

249

Book-packing sessions

7,879+

Volunteer hours

Partnerships

independent bookstores

educational institutions

Personal impact

Every package is a story. As our many thank-you letters attest, receiving books from PLP can be life-changing for people behind bars. You can read more thank-you letters in our blog post.

Sending books to people behind bars for over 45 years

Bookshelves at the Prisoners Literature Project

Prisoners Literature Project is an inclusive, all-volunteer, grassroots nonprofit whose purpose is to encourage reading, the pursuit of knowledge, and self-determination among incarcerated people. By sending free reading materials to those behind bars, PLP aims to foster learning and critical thinking and help prepare people to lead successful lives after incarceration. We believe that all people have a right to read.

Please consider donating to PLP or volunteering your time (if you live in the Bay Area, CA!) to help us answer letters from prisoners who write us from all over the United States.