Unburnable copy of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ goes up for auction, as video shows author Margaret Atwood trying to incinerate it

Muri Assunção

Margaret Atwood is fighting fire with fire.

A recent video shows the celebrated author of “The Handmaid’s Tale” using a flamethrower to burn her own book, the futurist dystopian novel imagining the horrors of a future in a totalitarian and theocratic state known as the Republic of Gilead.

Thankfully, she fails — and that’s the whole point.

A fire-proof edition of the Canadian author’s 1985 novel is being auctioned by Sotheby’s in a not-so-subtle reference to the growing number of books being banned or censored in the U.S. and abroad.

In April, a report by the American Library Association found that there were 729 challenges to more than 1,500 books in 2021 — almost double the number in 2019. That was the highest number of attempted book bans in 20 years, according to the ALA. Titles often focus on LGBTQ issues, race, religion and history.

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” for example, was among the 30 most banned books of the last decade.

An art handler holds Margaret Atwood's Unburnable Book, a fireproof edition of her prescient and often banned book "The Handmaid's Tale" at Sotheby's in New York City on June 3, 2022.
An art handler holds Margaret Atwood's Unburnable Book, a fireproof edition of her prescient and often banned book "The Handmaid's Tale" at Sotheby's in New York City on June 3, 2022.


An art handler holds Margaret Atwood's Unburnable Book, a fireproof edition of her prescient and often banned book "The Handmaid's Tale" at Sotheby's in New York City on June 3, 2022. (ANGELA WEISS/)

Keeping that in mind, Penguin Randon House printed and bound a copy that could survive a bonfire, for decades to come.

“This one-of-one limited-edition of the Margaret Atwood classic was created using entirely fireproof materials,” Penguin said in a statement. “It is intended to serve as a powerful symbol against censorship and a reminder of the necessity of protecting vital stories.”

An art handler holds Margaret Atwood's Unburnable Book, a fireproof edition of her prescient and often banned book "The Handmaid's Tale" at Sotheby's in New York City on June 3, 2022.
An art handler holds Margaret Atwood's Unburnable Book, a fireproof edition of her prescient and often banned book "The Handmaid's Tale" at Sotheby's in New York City on June 3, 2022.


An art handler holds Margaret Atwood's Unburnable Book, a fireproof edition of her prescient and often banned book "The Handmaid's Tale" at Sotheby's in New York City on June 3, 2022. (ANGELA WEISS/)

The book is made with a black Cinefoil dust jacket, white heat shield foil pages, stainless steel head and tail bands, a phenolic hard cover, a special high-temperature adhesive, and it’s bound with nickel wire.

The auction is set to end on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET. As of Friday, bidding had already reached $100,000. Proceeds will benefit PEN America, a prestigious human rights organization that fights to protect open expression and freedom in literature in the U.S. and around the world.

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