“I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.” -- Malcolm X When…
Category: Miscellaneous
Mail Call in the Prison System
Words diamonds on pages of gold A message from heaven as their story is told, “We love you, miss you, pray you’ll be free.” A treasure-filled envelope just for me. Please bring memories of joy I once knew Family, friends…
Why Donate to Prison Book Projects When Prisons Have Libraries?
“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe” — Madeleine L’Engle Most prisons have libraries, so why has APBP mailed over 45,000 books across six Appalachian states: West…
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Letter Matching 101: Searching the Bookshelves
At APBP, there are three main tasks for volunteers: opening letters from people in prison, matching the requests in the letters to a donated book on our shelves, and wrapping books in brown paper to be put in the mail.…
Prison Reform: Growth and Autonomy Through Education
Prison reform has a long and complicated history. Reform is often defined as how people come out of prison “changed” and with a sense of autonomy (or even freedom), while others remain the same as before they went in. Prison…
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Design by WVU Student and Incarcerated Artist
APBP intern Kristin, a student at WVU, and Maruice, an incarcerated artist, worked together to create a drawing that represents many of our organization's core values. A book, to represent education; a key, to represent freedom; mountains, to represent Appalachia;…
Quote from a 2018 Letter
Thanks to Underground Printing!
We are excited to announce a new co-sponsor of the APBP Student Organization's Walk for Justice! Underground Printing is helping to create our first-ever t-shirts. Thank you, Underground Printing! https://undergroundshirts.com/…/custom-t-shirt-printing-mor…
Books make time move a little faster
As the semester draws to a close, I wanted to share some of the many lessons I’ve learned during my time at APBP: One book can change the course of a person’s life. Letter after letter describes the impact of…
Emma Harrison named Truman Scholar!
WVU Junior Emma Harrison has been named a Truman Scholar! Emma was a student in Katy Ryan's WVU Inside-Out class (Justice and Literature) in the fall of 2017. She is dedicated to higher education in prison and will be doing an…