Closed due to coronavirus concerns

Published March 13, 2020 Uncategorized Closed

Covid Closed

In this age of COVID-19, to protect the health of volunteers and the greater community, we’re closed in compliance with the stay-at-home order for Illinois. 

We’re keeping up with mail and urgent tasks, but please, no drop-off book donations. If you would like to mail us books, email us first at chicagobwp@gmail.com. 

Questions? Please ask. Thanks for your ongoing support and stay safe.

Update at the beginning of June: Even though things are opening back up again, the building where we work is not open to us yet. Stay tuned!

Check us out at Chicago Zine Fest—virtually!

Published May 16, 2020 Uncategorized Closed

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This year, Chicago Zine Fest is all online—you know why!—and we’re delighted to participate again in this celebration of small press and independent publishers. We’re featuring three zines at #CZF2020 and all are available at our online store. (Our store is still open even though Chicago Zine Fest is over.)

AllThree

  • Bound Struggles A collection of poetry, stories, essays, and drawings by incarcerated women across the country, featuring an introduction by Chicago-based prison abolitionist Monica Cosby. 50 pages; 7″ x 9″; black and white.
  • Stuff Found in Books #1 Since most of our books are donated, we find some interesting things tucked between the pages. Take a look at a small selection in this zine. 36 pages, including front and back covers; quarter-size; full color.
  • Library Stories #1—Sometimes we’re asked, Aren’t there libraries in prison? See some of the notes we often get on the extremely limited access to books in prison. 40 pages, including front and back covers; quarter-size; black and white.

Shop for zines at our online store.

 

Don’t miss us at Chicago Zine Fest

Published May 15, 2019 Bound Struggles , Chicago Zine Fest , Events , News Closed

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We’re ready for one of our favorite events of the year!

CZF 2019 will take place over three days: Thursday, May 16–Saturday, May 18. Exhibition Day is Saturday, May 18 at Plumbers Union Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd., in the West Loop. In particular, look for us:

Thursday, May 16
Our own Vicki White will be part of this panel, featuring some great zinesters, on the first night of CZF 2019:

Zines + Social Justice Panel
7 pm
DePaul University’s Levan Center
2322 N. Kenmore Ave., Room 100

Saturday, May 18
Stop by and see us outside the reading room. Pick up our free zine brochure and a button. We’ll also be selling a couple of new zines, Bound Struggles (a collection of writing and art by women in prison), blank journals, and more.

All events during CZF weekend are FREE and open to the public.

Learn more about Chicago Zine Fest.

Announcing our new online wish list

Published April 27, 2019 Uncategorized Closed
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Celebrate #IndependentBookstoreDay with us each and every day!
Bye bye A****n. Welcome to our online wish list at Women and Children First.
Buy the books we need, we’ll pick ’em up—no shipping fee, no wasteful packaging. Thanks for shopping at one of Chicago’s best indy bookstores!

Thurs., February 21—An Evening at Victory Gardens Theater

Published January 15, 2019 Bound Struggles , Events , fundraising , News Closed
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JEFF RECOMMENDED!  

★★★ “Powerful… bristles with zest and indignant life.”
—Chicago Tribune

★★★ “Absolutely deserves to be seen.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“Morisseau’s dialogue ripples with warmth and wit as well as despair about the state of public education in impoverished districts.”
—Chicago Reader

Please join us for a performance of this new play that reflects on parenthood, the state of our public school system, and the prison pipeline. This is a fundraiser for Chicago Books to Women in Prison and your support will help us do more in 2019.

Watch the trailer.
Watch an interview with the cast.

Thursday, February 21, 7–9:30 pm
Victory Gardens Theater
2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago (map)

Buy tickets today

In addition to the play (90 minutes, no intermission):

  • Join us at 6:30 pm for a wine-and-cheese reception.
  • Then enjoy the 7:30 pm performance of Pipeline.
  • After the show (9 pm), stay for conversation. Reflect on what you’ve seen, learn about the greater context, and share your response.
  • BONUS: Included in the ticket, a copy of Bound Struggles, our collection of writing and art by women in prison.

Also support our book drive at Victory Gardens Theater.
Feel free to bring new or gently used educational books—paperbacks only, please—especially dictionaries of all kinds, craft books, books on learning a foreign language or trade skills, or on starting and running a small business.

Buy tickets today

Shop indy bookstores in the new year

Published January 10, 2019 Books , Donations , News , Promotions Closed
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We’re delighted to make it easy for our Chicago friends to buy books for us at two of our favorite independent bookstores—one on the North Side and one on the South Side.

Visit the special displays at Women & Children First and 57th Street Books, and help us stock our bookcases for 2019 with high-demand, high-impact books that tend not to be donated.

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WCF ❤ CBWP
Through Valentine’s Day, buy a gift card of any amount and help us reach $1,000. We’ll use the proceeds to buy books from Women & Children First (5233 N. Clark St., 773-769-9299).

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New year, new books for women in prison
Through the end of January, browse our display and buy a book or two for us. (We’ll pick them up.) Or buy a gift card we can use to buy books from 57th Street Books (1301 E. 57th St., 773-684-1300).

Don’t live in Chicago? You can call either store or order a gift card online, noting that it’s for Chicago Books to Women in Prison. Thank you on behalf of the women we serve.

Celebrating Bound Struggles—Fri., June 1

Published May 31, 2018 Uncategorized Closed

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Friday, June 1
6–8 pm (program begins at 6:30)

Uncharted Books
2620 N. Milwaukee Ave.
(directly across from the Logan Square Blue Line station)

Join us in celebrating Bound Struggles, our 56-page collection of writing and art by incarcerated women across the country. Enjoy readings by volunteers and the opportunity to learn more about our work and the importance of books in prison.

Copies of Bound Struggles available for purchase
(If you don’t live nearby, copies are available by mail for $10 including postage.)

Refreshments and snacks

Get the details on our Facebook event page.

15th Anniversary Party—Weds., November 15

Published October 25, 2017 Bound Struggles , Events , News Closed
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Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating 15 years of providing the lifeline of books to women in prison!
Wednesday, November 15
6–9 pm (program begins at 6:30)
After-Words Bookstore (private event space)
23 E. Illinois St., Chicago
The program:
    • Writer, scholar and artist Eve Ewing read from her widely acclaimed Electric Arches.  
    • KoStar, an amazing soul duo, performed. You may have seen them at the farewell event for Rasmea Odeh, the African Festival of the Arts or many other venues.
    • Our friend Monica Cosby, a writer and activist, spoke on the importance of books for people in prison.
    • Members of Praxilla Femina sang. We were delighted to see this women’s music collective of professional opera singers again after the benefit concert in the spring. 
    • And it was a release party too! Monica read selections from Bound Struggles, our relaunched journal of writing and art by women in prison. Everyone at the party got a copy.

Enjoy video of our special guests:

Eve Ewing     KoStar     Monica Cosby     Praxilla Femina

Our New Independent Bookstore Partner

Published October 1, 2017 Books , News Closed
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We appreciate everyone who buys books that we need but which are rarely donated. This helps us fill gaps in our inventory and enables us to do a better job of sending the very books a woman asks for.

We’re happy to now offer an easy way to buy from a local independent bookstore—Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston.

If you live in the area, please stop by Bookends & Beginnings, 1712 Sherman Avenue, Alley #1. Look for the Chicago Books to Women in Prison bookcase featuring a wide range of books selected just for us: entertainment, post-prison life, memoir, reference and wellness.

You can purchase books directly from this display. (You can also make a cash/check donation and let the bookstore use it on the most requested books.) Or order online. (There is no shipping charge as one of our volunteers will pick up the books.)

We have a goal of 200 books by the end of October. Please help us get these books into the hands of the women we serve. Check out the wish list at Bookends & Beginnings today!

Laughs Unlocked benefit show—Thurs., May 18

Published April 26, 2017 Events , fundraising , Laughs Unlocked , Press Release Closed
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Recommended by Chicagoist and the Reader!
Tickets on sale now! Buy online or call 773.697.9693.

Prison is no laughing matter, but we’ll make an exception because some of the best improv actors in Chicago are throwing us a benefit. Again!

In this two-act show they’ll create scenes based on stories from our friend Colette Payne. Colette, who was formerly incarcerated, is a community organizer with Cabrini Green Legal Aid/Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers. Continue reading ‘Laughs Unlocked benefit show—Thurs., May 18’

IMPORTANT: Please read before donating books or organizing a book drive for us

1381 packages so far in 2020!

In 2019, we sent 5,117 packages—more than 15,300 books and composition books—to women and trans people locked up across the country. (In 2018 we sent 4,852 packages.) Big, big thanks to all our supporters because we couldn’t do it without you. (updated October 19, 2020)

Donate money quickly and easily

Or send your check or money order to 4511 N. Hermitage Ave., Chicago, IL 60640. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your gift may be tax-deductible.

Shop our wish list today

Buy books we need online and we pick them up—no shipping fee, no wasteful packaging. (Or buy a gift card if you can’t decide!) Your purchase benefits not just the people we serve, but one of Chicago’s best indy bookstores.

ICYMI: In the News

Lit 50: Who Really Books In Chicago 2019 New City, May 23, 2019

Women doing time have plenty of time to read — and you can help Chicago Sun-Times, July 10, 2018

Chicago in action: Give back to the city with these three volunteer organizations Chicago Tribune RedEye, June 14, 2018

Local nonprofits find Amazon wish lists a prime resource for driving donations Chicago Sun-Times, May 3, 2018

Find more articles here—plus TV and radio segments.

Follow us on Twitter

  • RT @MorganGodvin: Women's jails and prisons are full of sex abuse and trafficking survivors. I would love to see this enthusiasm directed a… 11 hours ago
  • RT @PrisonReformMvt: Florida correctional facilities had been returning inmates' checks to the Internal Revenue Service after the federal a… 12 hours ago
  • RT @redschulte: MONDAY: PHONE ZAP ALERT! Our incarcerated comrades at Bedford Hills have had their privacy curtains stolen by COs + have… 1 day ago

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