Fireproof copy of Margaret Atwood’s novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is up for auction at Sotheby’s

Approximately one minute video Announcing Fred auction By Sotheby’s: A one-of-a-kind, unbreakable version of Atwood’s bestselling novel that Critics say became annoying more important In the decades since it was first published. All proceeds will go to PEN America, a non-profit organization focused on freedom of expression through literature.

Auction, first reported Associated Pressis a direct response to the growing number of book burnings and bans in schools and libraries, Atwood’s publisher, Penguin Random House, said on the promotional site. unurnablebook.com.

The book is “a version of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ made not only to withstand fire-breathing censorship and fanatical extremists, but also actual flames – the ones they wish to use to set our democracy on fire,” said journalist Faith Sally and comedian who hosted Monday night. PEN ceremony, where the auction was announced. The initial bid is $35,000.

Atwood’s novel, first published In 1985, it was banned in schools for more than three decades. The American Library Association’s list of the 100 best banned books of each decade includes “The Handmaid’s Tale” in its catalogs of 90sAnd 2000s And 2010s.

The story takes place in a version of The United States where a fundamentalist religious group overthrew democracy, assassinated the president and most members of Congress, and stripped women of almost all rights, including reading. In a patriarchal society, a woman is relegated to being an obedient and submissive wife or, for fertile non-believers, a enslaved to the religious upper class for the sole purpose of bearing children for the man of the house. was the book Adapted from a TV show In 2017, and in 2019 Atwood published a sequel, “commandments“that won the Booker Prize.

The novel has re-emerged as a cultural station in recent years. The images from the book were recalled when state conservative lawmakers repealed laws on reproductive rights and increased oversight of what was taught in schools. More recently, women have put on red cloaks and white headdresses – worn by the maids in Atwood’s novel – to protest against Leaked Supreme Court opinion draft on the coup Raw vs. Wade.

The book’s fire-resistant print is made of materials that withstand temperatures up to 1,220 degrees Fahrenheit and is hand-stitched with nickel wire, according to the publisher. The Gas Company, which specializes in binding and printing, took two months to assemble the novel, the Associated Press reported.

“It is designed to protect this vital story and stand as a strong symbol against censorship,” says the book’s promotional website.

The online auction opened Monday night and ends June 7. The book will be on display at Sotheby’s in New York from June 4 to June 7.

“Do it now,” said Sally, the host of the ceremony, while encouraging the crowd to begin bidding. “We don’t want to disappoint Margaret—we’ve seen her use a blowtorch.”