Fireproof Edition of The Handmaid’s Tale Auctioned

Sotheby’s auctioned off a copy of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale specially made of fireproof materials, raising $130,000 for PEN America’s efforts to oppose book bans.

To raise awareness about the proliferating book banning and educational gag orders in American schools nationwide, and to raise money to support PEN America’s crucial work to counter this national crisis of censorship, Margaret Atwood and Penguin Random House have partnered with the creative agency Rethink to make The Unburnable Book, a fireproof edition of Atwood’s prescient—and often banned—book The Handmaid’s Tale, featuring the iconic Handmaid imagery by designer Noma Bar.

This single-copy special edition of The Handmaid’s Tale was produced in Toronto by the graphic arts specialty and bookbinding atelier The Gas Company Inc. The Unburnable Book was manufactured by print-and-bindery master craftsman Jeremy Martin. Fireproof materials and processes were researched and tested by Doug Laxdal.

For more, see the book listing here.


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