About

Books To Prisoners (Vancouver), a non-profit, grass-roots organization begun in 1992, is dedicated to providing prisoners with reading materials.

We send books to prisoners upon request and to prison libraries. A wide range of materials are requested particularly fiction, science fiction, fantasy, graphic novels, reference, self-help and wellness, true adventure and biography, books on West Coast Indigenous art and carving, and how-to instructional books on various topics like drawing and current computer skills.

We acknowledge that our work takes place on the unceded, traditional, ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.

History

We are the oldest books to prisoners program in Canada, founded in 1992. For close to three decades the founding members worked tirelessly gathering and distributing books to various federal and provincial prisons throughout BC and Canada.

In 2019, after years of dedication, the founding members passed on their solid foundation and expertise to a new collective of folks and that is where we stand today.