Margaret Atwood’s unburnable book wasn’t unsellable.
A special edition of the Canadian novelist’s The Handmaid’s Tale, constructed entirely of fireproof materials, fetched $130,000 at auction on Tuesday, NPR reports. The auction was a fundraiser for PEN America, the literary nonprofit that’s been fighting book bans across the nation.
Atwood and Penguin Random House announced the special edition of the book last month. It features heat shield foil pages, an aluminum foil dust jacket, nickel wire thread, and a high-temperature adhesive.
“Across the United States and around the world, books are being challenged, banned, and even burned,” Penguin Random House said on a website for the book. “So we created a special edition of a book that’s been challenged and banned for decades.…It is designed to protect this vital story and stand as a powerful symbol against censorship.”
Atwood’s 1985 novel has indeed been the target of challenges and bans for years. The American Library Association listed it as the seventh most challenged book of 2019, and more recently, it was one of 24 books permanently banned by an Idaho school district.
“In the face of a determined effort to censor and silence, this unburnable book is an emblem of our collective resolve to protect books, stories and ideas from those who fear and revile them,” PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement reported by NPR. “We are thankful to be able to deploy the proceeds of this auction to fortify this unprecedented fight for books.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
