Our mission
We support incarcerated people by offering resources that affirm their humanity, promote self-expression, and encourage a sense of dignity. We believe access to books is a basic right, and we aim to ensure that every person in prison has the opportunity to read, learn, and engage with the world beyond their confinement.
Who We are
Missouri Prison Books is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization based in St. Louis, Missouri that sends quality reading material, by request to incarcerated individuals in Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas. We are associated with Subterranean Books in the University City Loop to help us receive letters from prisons as well as raise funds and awareness.
Our History
Missouri Prison Books formed in 2019 to fill the need for reading material inside Missouri prisons. While demand for books is high in prisons across the U.S., incarcerated people are frequently barred from receiving books from friends and family, and prison libraries are often under-resources.
In September of 2023, the Missouri Department of Corrections changed its book access policy and no longer allows books to be sent directly to prisoners outside of their selected list of vendors.
We are now serving neighboring states Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas with the hope of resuming our work in Missouri prisons soon.
missouriprisonbooks.org 