Resources

Our work is grounded in the goal of abolishing the prison system, supporting those harmed by it, and building sustainable collective alternatives.

The following materials and resources provide an introduction to this set of ideas and goals, if you are unfamiliar with the principles of abolition:

This masterpost provides a list of links to free .pdf versions of books exploring race, gender, sexuality and class, including Angela Davis’ book Are Prisons Obsolete?

If you have suggestions for resources we should add to this list, please email us at booksbeyondbarsuk@gmail.com.

Support for people in prison

The following organisations do valuable work supporting incarcerated people:

The Bent Bars Project is a letter-writing project for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, gender-variant, intersex, and queer prisoners in Britain. The project was founded in 2009, responding to a clear need to develop stronger connections and build solidarity between LGBTQ communities inside and outside prison walls.
Borderline Books redistributes second hand books to under-served and marginalised communities in the UK, including people in prison.
Haven Distribution aims to provide practical support to prisoners within the UK in the form of educational literature and dictionaries.

Campaigns and activist networks

Smash IPP is a collective of people fighting for the release of IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) prisoners, and the abolition of life licenses.
Community Action on Prison Expansion (CAPE) is a grassroots coalition of groups fighting prison expansion in our own communities and in solidarity with others.
Empty Cages Collective is a small group of people who have been imprisoned or engaged in prison-related struggle and prisoner support over a number of years, campaigning for prison abolition.

If you are involved in an organisation or group that you think should be on our list, please email us at booksbeyondbarsuk@gmail.com.

Books Beyond Bars UK, Registered company number: 11762572