Challenges and goals

As the world's largest English-language book publisher, Penguin Random House (PRH) is deeply invested in freedom of expression. Over the past year, according to a recent PEN report, book banning in U.S. schools and libraries has reached unprecedented levels — particularly books that address themes of racism, gender, and sexual orientation. Some elected officials have even suggested burning books deemed “inappropriate.” But it’s not just in the US. In Canada, the threat to freedom of expression is also rising. 

As the publisher of one of the most banned books of all time — Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale — PRH wanted to make a clear statement against censorship. Our challenge was to create a campaign that was bold and emotionally resonant enough to cut through the noise and capture the urgency of this issue.

Insights, Strategy and Execution

With elected officials across the US engaging in censorship, book banning, and even threatening to burn books, we asked one simple question: What if they couldn’t? 

The result was the Unburnable Book. A one-of-a-kind edition of The Handmaid’s Tale specially designed to be impossible to burn. More than just a unique limited edition, the book served as a concrete metaphor for the entire world, to demonstrate that no matter how many books you ban or destroy, you can never extinguish powerful ideas. 

The execution

The one-of-a-kind fireproof copy of The Handmaid’s Tale was created by The Gas Company Inc., a bookbinding specialty studio in Toronto. It was made of Cinefoil, a specially treated aluminum product, and bound with nickel copper wire. The materials were thoroughly tested at a range of temperatures and using a variety of flames from lighters to blow torches and even a BBQ.

We invited Ms. Atwood, the 82-year-old legend herself, to come to the studio and test a prototype — with a flamethrower. We filmed the test, and this scene of Margaret Atwood pulling on her black gloves with a knowing look, and doing her best to torch her own novel, became the key moment in our launch video. 

A single copy of the Unburnable Book was produced to sell at auction, with proceeds going to PEN America — an organization dedicated to freedom of expression. Both the book and video launched on May 23, on social in Canada and at the PEN America Literary Gala in Manhattan, which was attended by the brightest stars in literature and journalism. In advance of the gala, we secured an exclusive feature story with Associated Press, which went live immediately after the book unveiling. Ms. Atwood shared the video with her 2 million Twitter followers and in no time, the story went global. On social media, people were delighted and inspired to see Margaret Atwood take a flamethrower to an unburnable copy of her classic novel. 

Following the launch, the book was auctioned off by Sotheby’s, with the auction kicking off on the night of the gala and running until June 7th. In between, the book was displayed under glass alongside the video at Sotheby’s NY. A campaign website hosted the video and directed visitors to the auction.

The next morning, we deployed news releases in Canada and the U.S. Through targeted outreach to the Globe & Mail, we secured a secondary exclusive about the making of the book. Over the next week, dozens of interview requests came in and the story continued to go viral as we prepared for another media push around the book’s sale. Sotheby’s estimated a sale price of US$50,000 to US$100,000. When the auction closed, another AP exclusive announced the book had sold for US$130,000. 

Results/Impact

• US$130,000 donation to PEN

• 5,230 organic media hits + reach of 3.5 billion worldwide, including the CBC, Toronto Star, National Post, Reuters, New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, ABC, CBS, People, Vanity Fair, and Fast Company

• Organic social reach of over 3.5 billion impressions, including support from fans including Joyce Carol Oates, John Cusack, and Martina Navratilova 

• Advertising Value Equivalency of $35 million in earned media

• #1 in AdAge’s “Top 5 celebrity brand collabs you need to know about right now”

In a statement, Margaret Atwood said, “I’m very pleased that the one-of-a-kind Unburnable Book of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale' has raised so much money for PEN America. Free speech issues are being hotly debated, and PEN is a sane voice amidst all the shouting… We hope this raises awareness and leads to reasoned discussion.”