Prison Banned Books Week

Prisons are the largest censors in the United States.

Prisons and jails ban more books than all public schools and libraries combined. Prison Banned Books Week is an annual campaign that shines a light on this widespread censorship and advocates for the rights of incarcerated and detained people to access literature and express themselves freely. In partnership with organizations that champion free expression, the campaign underscores a powerful message: censorship has no place in a democracy.

Raising awareness of this most pervasive practice of censorship in America, the third, annual Prison Banned Books Week brings together over sixty organizations working for free expression. Independent booksellers, libraries, prison book programs, civil and First Amendment rights organizations and legal advocacy organizations work tirelessly to ensure the free access to information and ideas necessary for a democratic society.

This Prison Banned Books Week, we will be celebrating their work and offer ways to connect with these amazing organizations.

Articles: 2024 Campaign

Prison Policy Initiative Report

Prison Tablets Contribute to Censorship

This Technology Was Supposed to Help People in Prison. It’s Backfiring in a Big Way

Moira Marquis, Slate

Activists ‘fight against censorship’ in the largest US book bans: prisons

The Guardian

Lifeline, Cash-Grab, Tool for Censorship: Three Incarcerated Readers on eBooks in Prison

Stevie Wilson, David Webb and Paula Grieve, Literary Hub

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections’ new ban on Wisconsin Books to Prisoners highlights the arbitrary rules governing incarcerated people’s access to books

From ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ to ‘Prison Ramen’: The most-commonly banned books in U.S. prisons

Juliana Luna, NPR

Two publications accuse Missouri of censoring prisoners’ access to news and information

Katie Moore, Kansas City Star

Wisconsin Books to Prisoners Barred from Sending Books to Incarcerated People by Wisconsin Department of Corrections

Innovative Women’s Health Book Circumvents Prison Bans

City Buzz

Why I’m So Desperate for the Return of Microsoft Word to Our Prison Library

Robert Williams, Slate

Escaping Prison with Role-Playing Games

Imaginary Worlds Podcast

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Have prisons and jails always banned books? Why do prisons and jails censor what people can read? What kinds of books are censored? What have people been doing to try and resist these limits on reading? Find out more in this history of prison book programs.

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