Women's Prison Book Project: Give to the Max 2025

Women's Prison Book Project has been sending books to people in prison since 1994. Our work has always involved navigating strict limitations, including book bans and content policing. But the landscape is constantly changing, and prisons are increasingly imposing restrictions requiring brand-new books only, significantly increasing the everyday costs of our work.

More funds give us more freedom to work around these restrictions and send books to people who need them. It allows us to continue reaching people isolated in prisons.

💥HOW YOU CAN HELP💥

This Give to the Max season, we aim to raise $10,000 to cover the increasing costs of purchasing brand-new books. A gift of any size helps us offset expenses and get more books into the hands of more people! Here are a few ways your generous donation is put to work:

💜$500 fully funds our postage machine rental for a year, which sends an average of 100 packages every week. 

💜$100 contributes postage for 20 packages sent to incarcerated readers.

💜$50 purchases two sets of three creative favorites: Crochet Cute Critters, Easy Origami, and The One Minute Gratitude Journal. 

💜$30 purchases two paperback copies of 15-Minute HIIT For Women, one of our most popular wellness and exercise books. 

💜$15 purchases one copy of The Trans Self-Care Workbook, helping us fulfill priority orders for trans people in prison.

And save the date for our Give to the Max Day open house celebration at Tropes & Trifles (2709 E 38th St, Minneapolis, MN 55406) on Friday, November 21, between 4–6 p.m. We'll have a button-making station, snacks, and opportunities to connect with fellow Women's Prison Book Project supporters and book lovers alike. Tropes & Trifles will be donating 10% of all sales during the event to WPBP.

OUR MISSION 

Women's Prison Book Project (WPBP) is an all-volunteer, grassroots nonprofit serving incarcerated women, trans, and gender-expansive people in prisons across the U.S. Since 1994, our work has focused on providing people in prison with free reading materials on many topics including education (dictionaries, GED books, etc.), health, fiction, law, self-help, and crafts. The books are individually selected for each person based on their requests, which come through handwritten letters. We seek to build connections with those behind the walls and to educate those on the outside about the realities of prison and the justice system.

💜 We love books, and we believe in their transformational power. Whether a book is educational, empowering, or escapist, we think everyone should have access. 💜