Why giving to Books Through Bars matters

"We are on Quarantine lockdown and no end in sight. The Books that you sent me months ago are still being passed around and enjoyed by all of us here...They help the time go by and keep your head out of here." (8/11/20)
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"Words cannot express how delighted I was to receive the Hugo and Nebula award winning trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, 'The Broken Earth.' I had a few misgivings before I started reading; a few red flags in the introductory material and some things I had heard through the grapevine about the state of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction gave me pause. Nevermind! All my doubts were assuaged within the first few chapters of book #1, 'The Fifth Season.' What a fantastic story! As literature how uniquely creative! Thank you so much!" (9/4/20)

Since we started this monthly book drive in June on behalf of NYC Books Through Bars, we never anticipated we would so quickly exceed 1,000 sets purchased for the program (over 3,000 books total)--going a very long way to fulfill the hundreds and hundreds of requests continually pouring in from prisoners nationwide. Books Through Bars and Freebird want to thank everyone for their ongoing donations, and especially at this time when incarcerated readers are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic in such an acute manner.
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Even as we get past this current situation, the demand for books at prisons will always remain high.  If you haven't heard about this month's selection, there's still time to purchase the set.  And we will be doing a special virtual event on Wednesday, September 30, around one of the books featured (The Ballad of Black Tom).  Sign up now!