“But since I came to prison I’ve been clean and sober . . . yes, prison saved my life, but that’s not what I want for our youth . . .”

Please take a moment to read over our updated Topics and Genres list before donating books. If you want to donate books that do not fall under these genres, please email miranda@bighousebooksms.org for approval. We will continue to update the list as needed. As always, we are grateful for your support!

Book donations must be PAPERBACK ONLY and in good condition. Drop off book donations on Sundays from 12-2 PM or mail them to 133 Millsaps Ave., Jackson, MS 39202. Thank you!

As we approach the close of a wildly successful year, we at Big House Books want to extend our heartfelt thanks to you. Your support has been a crucial part of our efforts to serve incarcerated readers, and we could not do this important work without the kindness and commitment of supporters like you.

This holiday season, we reflect on the many successes we’ve achieved together, all made possible by the dedication of volunteers and donors alike. As an all-volunteer organization, we rely on the generosity of individuals like you to achieve our mission of protecting the right to read. Your contribution has not only provided vital resources to help us grow but has also given hope to those who benefit from our services. Every week we read letters of thanks from readers that are humbled by the generosity of people they will likely never meet. This small act of kindness – mailing a package of books – communicates so much to an incarcerated reader: hope, humility, kindness, compassion, and the list goes on.

Thanks to you, we have been able to mail over 16,000 books to incarcerated readers this year! This is a HUGE record for Big House Books and we are so proud of what we’ve accomplished. None of it would be possible without your support. We thrive on mostly small dollar gifts from our donor community, helping to support the roughly $6 cost for each reader we serve. To supplement the generous funding we receive from supporters like you, we have begun to venture into grant writing, so please think of us if you hear of any opportunities we may qualify for in 2025.

Looking ahead, we are excited about the work we will continue to do in 2025 and beyond, and we know that with your ongoing generosity, we will be able to make an even greater impact in the coming year. In fact, we have recently expanded our physical working space, doubling it in size in anticipation of needing to serve more readers and host new volunteers in the new year as awareness of our organization continues to grow across the state.

Your support truly makes a difference in the lives of those we serve and our volunteers experience their thanks every time we open a new request letter. On behalf of everyone at Big House Books, we wish you a joyful holiday season filled with peace and happiness. Thank you for being a part of our mission, and for continuing to make our work possible.

Warmest regards,

The Volunteers of Big House Books

Thank you to the Moleskine Foundation, Jackson Friends of the Library, and the Mississippi Humanities Council for supporting us in getting books and notebooks into the hands of prison book clubs and libraries all over the state.

If you’d like to help us replenish our postage fund after this big delivery, visit the donation page on our website: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/big-house-books

Listen to the podcast of Monday’s episode of Now You’re Talking with Marshall Ramsey to hear Holly and Miranda talk about Big House Books. Thank you to Marshall and the folks at MPB for having us!

https://shows.acast.com/5d893336bd7d8a2b67020ead/666760750e8c9a00128f9625

We’ve had a busy spring, with 451 packages sent out in the month of May alone! That’s over 1,350 books in the hands of incarcerated readers in Mississippi! Thanks to our volunteers and supporters for helping us get these books packed and sent out every week. Without you, we wouldn’t exist.

We kicked off the month with a special Midfest book packing party and ended with a group book packing party for a group of HOBY Leadership students. We were also honored to be featured on Good Things with Rebecca Turner on Supertalk MS, where we talked about our mission and current needs. You can watch our interview here.

We were honored to receive the Innovation in Volunteerism Award at Volunteer Mississippi’s GIVE Awards this year. Thank you to the Volunteer Commission for recognizing our big little organization. And a huge THANK YOU to the volunteers and supporters who have helped us get to this point. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Check out photos from the GIVE Awards and the BHB promo video below.

For the month of May, we will be accepting donations of books on tape/CD and players. These will go to incarcerated readers who are unable to read physical books due to poor eyesight, learning disabilities, etc. You can drop them off during any of our Sunday book packing parties from 12-2 p.m.

Location: 133 Millsaps Ave., Jackson