This event will bring together editors and contributors to Books through Bars, a new collection exploring how prison books programs are quietly challenging the largest prison industry in the world. The hybrid format means community members are welcome to join in-person or virtually (registration coming soon).

This book contains essays that explain the need for prison book programs and offer advice on how to establish or become involved with prison books programs, while shedding light on current challenges. While mass incarceration can make people feel powerless, this book details how ordinary people can organize and intervene in the largest imprisonment the world has ever known. The editors of Books through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement hope it will inspire more people to realize that everyone has the power to treat each other differently and to foster a culture of care over cruelty.

Dave “Mac” Marquis is a lifelong activist. He has worked with the Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal, Earth First!, and the Asheville Global Report. He helped establish Asheville Prison Books as well as Saxapahaw Prison Books. Mac is the book review editor for H-Labor and the executive assistant for the Labor and Working-Class History Association. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of South Carolina.

Julie Schneyer is a prison abolitionist working with Asheville Prison Books since 2011. Julie also participates in numerous groups challenging state repression, including the Asheville Community Bail Fund and Blue Ridge ABC. She holds a master's degree in literacy, culture, and language education and teaches reading and math to adult learners.