We work directly with incarcerated readers to build a world without cages.
Use our wishlist to help us send more books inside prisons.
Our Mission
We're a group of readers in Kansas City working directly with incarcerated readers to build a world without cages. We send books of all kinds to individuals incarcerated in Missouri and Kansas.
Our goals are to stoke the imagination, foster relationships, amplify voices, and build solidarity through literature.
We are Abolitionist
We believe nobody’s free until everybody’s free. No one should be locked in a cage. The work of Liberation Lit is oriented toward a future where prisons, jails, and the police have been abolished and transformative justice is the norm. The United States carceral system is an oppressive structure created to disappear human beings it unjustly deems unfit for society. It accomplishes this by stripping individuals of their voice, imagination, and humanity. We believe that sharing literature of all kinds, whether it be sci-fi, graphic novels, or political theory, is one small but necessary step to uplifting the voices, imaginations, and humanity currently locked behind bars.
We send books through bars so we can tear them down.
We are Built on Relationships
While we believe in the potential of literature itself to inspire, we know that power is built through relationship and solidarity. Liberation Lit is dedicated to facilitating personal relationships with incarcerated folks and providing a platform for those most impacted by the unjust carceral system. We aim to hold space for the incarcerated to express their individual and collective concerns, hopes, and visions for the future.
Liberation Lit is People-Centered
We frame access to literature as a first step in wrestling power from the system, but systemic change is accomplished through collective action led by those closest to the problem. We work directly with individuals behind bars to shape our program to their interests. This is an ongoing process of communicating, listening, and adapting. Our initiatives are designed to open up conversation with and adapt to the suggestions of incarcerated individuals. We believe that those most hurt by the Prison Industrial Complex will be the ones who lead us to a world without cages.
Join the Liberation Lit Pen Pal Program
Join a community of letter writers—get matched with an incarcerated pen pal. Build connections and learn from those most impacted by the Prison Industrial Complex.
