In 2022, Atwood & publisher had a fire-proof copy made of her "The Handmaid's Tale". After trying & failing to burn it (pictured), Sotheby's auctioned it off for $130K with money going to PEN America (founded 1922), to fight censorship, book bans, etc.
The book's been banned by entire countries!
She said she stopped writing it several times bc it seemed so far-fetched(!)
#TheHandmaidsTale #MargaretAtwood #PENAmerica #PEN #USA #censorship #BookBans #TX #PA #FL #OK #GOP
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/margaret-atwood-tried-and-failed-to-burn-copy-handmaids-tale-unburnable-fireproof-180980223/

Trump's FCC is eyeing warnings for trans TV content. Civil rights groups are pushing back

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trump-fcc-transgender-warnings

Worser and worser πŸ“šπŸ˜‘πŸ₯ΊπŸ˜‘πŸ“š Not surprising, but dramatic to actually see the numbers! "At what point do we decide that the erasure of literature, stories, and histories and the disdain for expertise have hit a breaking point?" #FreedomToRead #BookBans #Censorship #PENAmerica

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:nqno3j4dbzpeqk4oisr7y7r7/post/3mlrck7bqic25

New PEN America Report Finds Nonfiction Increasingly Targeted by Book Banners in U.S. Schools

β€œThe content of these books that are disappearing speaks volumes about both the stories, identities, and facts that are being suppressed, and about the political and cultural attack on public education across the U.S.,” the report states.
The post New PEN America Report Finds Nonfiction Increasingly Targeted by Book Banners in U.S. Schools appeared first on Publishing Perspectives.
https://publishingperspectives.com/2026/05/new-pen-america-report-finds-nonfiction-increasingly-targeted-by-book-banners-in-u-s-schools/

#BookBans #FreedomtoRead #PENAmerica #reports #UnitedStates

As National Library Week draws to a close, defend the freedom to read in US public schools and tell DC politicians to stay out of district decisions that should be made at the local level! The House may soon vote on a censorship bill that would treat high schoolers the same way as kindergarteners and prohibit spending certain federal funds on books, materials and programs while allowing others with similar content.

#NationalLibraryWeek #PENAmerica #Petition

https://act.pen.org/a/take-action-hr-7661

Protect Students’ Freedom to Read in US Public Schools!

The House may soon vote on a censorship bill that would treat high schoolers the same way as kindergarteners and prohibit spending certain federal funds on books, materials and programs while allowing others with similar content. We need your help to ensure it does not pass!

EveryAction

Fired for refusing to remove LGBTQ+ books, Tennessee librarian says she’d do it again

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/fired-tn-library-director-speaks

Tennessee board fires library director who refused to comply with LGBTQ+ book purge

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/tennessee-librarian-fired-lgbtq-books

Tennessee library board meets to weigh firing librarian who refused LGBTQ+ book purge

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/tennessee-library-disciplinary-hearing

Love this: "The Forbidden Words Quilt, led by Lorraine Woodruff-Long and Patricia Hickey, is a community quilt project launched in August 2025 and completed in 2026 with contributions from 195 quilters from all 50 U.S. states and D.C. and 5 countries. The quilt features 384 words and phrases identified by #PENAmerica.org [@penamerica] that are among the growing list of words being scrubbed from government websites and documents and flagged for review by federal agencies."
https://mailchi.mp/quiltinginthefog/july2024-6423127#mctoc1

h/t @lschiff

#BannedWords #Censorship #DefendResearch #Quilts #Quilting #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

Chrysanthemum White

Quilt

clean power

Forbidden Words Project image: winter mushrooms Β© holly troy 2026 "The Clean Power Plan gives states the opportunity to ensure that communities share in the benefits of a clean energy economy, including energy efficiency and renewable energy." from β€” FACT SHEET: Overview of the Clean Power Plan | Clean Power Plan | US EPA. (n.d.). 

https://holly-troy.com/2026/01/12/clean-power/