The Making of This Book is Free and Yours to Keep: Notes from the Appalachian Prison Book Project
This Book is Free and Yours to Keep: Notes from the Appalachian Prison Book Project is a collection of letters, creative work, and artwork by incarcerated people who have written to the Appalachian Prison Book Project (APBP) or participated in APBP book clubs or WVU courses in prison. The collection also features reflections from APBP volunteers.
This Book is Free and Yours to Keep: Notes from the Appalachian Prison Book Project is a collection of letters, creative work, and artwork by incarcerated people. Many contributors first wrote to the Appalachian Prison Book Project (APBP) to request books; others have participated in APBP book clubs or WVU courses in prison. The collection also includes reflections from APBP volunteers.
"As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. This book transformed me. It taught me that if we want to live a beautiful life, we must think beautiful thoughts. It encouraged me to stay centered in the highest principles of love, truth, justice, benevolence, acceptance, and responsibility, among other ideals." — Mark Sims
Published in 2024 after nearly five years of editing and collecting permissions from contributors, This Book is Free and Yours to Keep communicates the importance of access to books and education and encourages readers to prioritize community over incarceration. It was awarded the 2024 Weatherford Award in Nonfiction by the Appalachian Studies Association and Berea College.
Our title echoes the affirmation that accompanies every book mailed by APBP – each book is sent free of charge and becomes the property of the person who requested it.
"I have come to the well again, looking to fill my dipper with the knowledge I desire. I am a Two Spirited Native American seeking literature on American Indian Religious practices." — LoRee Hernandez
At APBP, volunteers experience the impact of the hundreds of handwritten letters that arrive each week. In addition to book requests, letters often include updates on family, personal aspirations and interests, book reviews, words of gratitude, and critiques and insight on the criminal legal system. With our book, we wanted more people to experience this form of communication and connection.
Our hope is that this webpage can be a continuation of the work of This Book is Free and Yours to Keep, where you’ll find some of the history of this project, quotes and artwork from the book, artwork we could not include in the book due to the cost of color photos, and artwork and notes we have received after the book’s publication. We will continue to update this page as new developments take place.
You can read excerpts of Hugh Williams, Jr.'s preface and Dr. Katy Ryan's introduction to This Book is Free and Yours to Keep in the Inquest article "Decarceral Pathways: Free Books." We also highly recommend checking out Books through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement and Dear Books to Prisoners: Letters from the Incarcerated.