The unburnable book will go for auction at Sotheby’s New York on Wednesday and is expected to go for bids beginning at around $100K. In a recent press release talking about the book, Margaret Atwood stated, “‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ has been banned many times…Let’s hope we don’t reach the stage of wholesale book burnings, as in ‘Fahrenheit 451’…But if we do, let’s hope some books will prove unburnable-that they will travel underground, as prohibited books did in the Soviet Union.” In response to this wave of censorship, we worked with Penguin Random House. It is intended to serve as a powerful symbol against censorship and a reminder of the necessity of protecting vital stories.This unique work. This unburnable book is an emblem of our collective resolve to protect books, stories and ideas from those who fear and revile them. Books are being banned and burned at an alarming rate. Sotheby’s is honored to present The Unburnable Book, an auction of a single fireproof edition of The Handmaid’s Tale benefitting PEN America.This one-of-one limited-edition of the Margaret Atwood classic was created using entirely fireproof materials. Most of the banned books are a reflection of a wider conservative movement intended to restrict how students learn about sex, sexuality, gender, race and more. Burning books has been an infamous tradition. Texas notably leads the states with a whopping 713 books banned. The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood Puts a Flamethrower to a Burn-Proof Edition of The Handmaids Tale. PEN America, a literacy and free expression advocacy agency, recently released a statement that nearly 1,586 books have been banned since July 1, 2021.
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