A partnership between W.W. Norton & Company and the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison
Are you a HEP educator or program administrator looking for free textbooks for your incarcerated students?
Check back! In April 2026, our cycle to apply to get textbooks for Fall 2026 courses will open thanks to our generous partners at W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Eligibility Criteria
Program Requirements: We are only able to provide book donations to established higher education in prison (HEP) programs with enrolled students and courses planned for the upcoming semester.
Request Limits: Quantities are limited. Please request only the number of books your program truly needs to ensure equitable distribution among eligible programs.
Use Agreement: By submitting a request, you agree that these books will be used for educational purposes within prison programs only. They may not be resold or distributed to third parties.
Shipping Address Requirements: We cannot guarantee successful shipping to residential addresses. Please plan to provide a prison address or an institutional address (e.g., program office or university address) when completing your request.
In celebration of their 100th anniversary, W. W. Norton & Company committed to a number of philanthropic causes, including donating books to higher education in prison programs.
In 2025, the Alliance hosted two cycles of the book donation program, which resulted in over 3,600 book donations and over $360,000 in savings for prison education programs.
"Books represent the material culture of college experience. When you can't wear the college sweatshirt or attend campus activities, textbooks are tangible and significant."
"These books were a godsend, replacing very old, worn, and outdated books."
David Delvalle (left; alum and current Education and Reentry Director for Tufts University Prison Initiative) and Andrew West (right; TUPIT professor) receiving the 21st Century Astronomy textbooks as part of the Fall 2024 cycle of the Prison Education Book Connection.
"Our students use these valuable reference books throughout their entire college career ... A huge thanks to the Alliance for supporting our students!"
If you have participated in previous cycles of the Prison Education Book Connection, we would love to hear from you about the impact of the donations! Please send any photos, testimonials, and other feedback to alliance@higheredinprison.org.
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