The Best Inmate Service Companies by Daniel Patrykus

Hello once again. This month, I’d like to share with you a few companies that have helped me through not only segregation, but also prison itself. First off, is a Bargain Book company in Connecticut called Edward Hamilton Bookseller. For years now they have been providing inmates across the country, as well as to the general public and online, with catalogs of wide categories and genres to choose from at a steeply discounted price. And your entire order ships for only $4 no matter how many books you buy. I tend to order from them about once every two months. Whenever I get their new catalog, I always finish scanning it with a wish list of selections that I need to dwindle down to what I can afford.

Books and other reading material, as you can imagine, are most people’s number one source of getting through the days and weeks.

There are many inmate service companies in the nation. Some are good, some are slow but trustworthy, while others are scams, normally set up by previously incarcerated men and women who prey on our vulnerability of being locked up. You must be very careful who to trust when it comes to sending money to a company that says they will do this or that for inmates. My go-to company is Webb Hunter. Not only are they professional, but they are FAST. Which, in prison, is Everything! I use this company to order stuff on Amazon for me, books, magazines, gifts to loved ones on the outside. They also do quite a lot more for those who need them, such as research, legal, pre-release, etc. They are truly a life saver, and a valuable resource. Two others I use every so often and can vouch for are Felon’s Friend out of California, and Top Notch Inmate Services (previously E.P.S.) out of Wisconsin. Webb Hunter is in Virginia.

Magazines. Who doesn’t enjoy flipping through a magazine when bored? I use these two companies. Discount Magazines out of Ft. Myers, Florida, and Tightwad Magazines in Georgia. Like all competing companies, simply compare prices for certain titles, as each has their own unique deals on a variety of magazines. I currently have 8 total yearly subscriptions and paid less than $75 in total between the two companies.

Prison Legal News is a legal based publication that I find very informational and even entertaining. Published monthly at $36 for a year for inmates, they tell us all of the news concerning prisons and inmates across the nation, including some articles about overseas.

Lastly, these non-profits don’t get much notice, but they are a few of many national free books to inmate places that assist with our time. The ones I use are UC Books to Prisoners in Illinois, Midwest Books in Chicago, and Books to Prisoners Seattle.

We may be out of the public’s eye, but all of these companies help us to not only be seen and heard, but also help us do our time.

About the blogger: Daniel Patrykus is a Mulatto-Millennial, born in 1996.  He's incarcerated in the Illinois DOC.  A native of Wisconsin, Daniel recently began residing in Chicago.  He loves sports, music, and travel.