The Perry Democrats will host a fundraising auction of banned books Saturday, June 1 from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Proletariat at 1213 Second St. in downtown Perry. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. to permit inspection of the books in advance of the auction.
The event will also include readings by local high school students and an address by Sen. Claire Celsi of West Des Moines, a member of the Education and Government Oversight committees in the Iowa Senate.
The event organizers said the idea for the auction came last winter, when a publisher, Penguin Random House, and four authors whose books were banned “sued the state of Iowa over its sweeping education law banning books that depict sex acts from schools.”
Earlier this month, five additional publishing companies – Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Simon and Schuster and Sourcebooks—joined the lawsuit, which is pending in U.S. District Court.
The four authors involved in the Iowa lawsuit have provided autographed copies of their books to the auction along with words of support. The authors of books banned from Iowa school libraries are Laurie Halse Anderson, author of “Speak” and “Shout,” John Green, author of “Looking for Alaska” and “The Fault in Our Stars,” Malinda Lo, author of “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” and Jodi Picoult, author of “19 Minutes.”
The auction will include a variety of books for all ages — from contemporary volumes that are currently being challenged to literary classics that have been banned in the past. For example, noted American novelist Ann Patchett has signed and donated her favorite banned classic, Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” to the auction.
Local auctioneer Tom Burkgren will supervise the selling of the inscribed books, which include signatures and notes from literary luminaries such as Judy Blume, Angie Thomas, Jane Smiley and Sherman Alexie.
There will also be a silent auction of books donated by local Perry readers and area bookstores and books from Annie’s Foundation, a Johnston nonprofit that advocates for the freedom to read. Representatives from the Foundation will be present.
“You’ll not only be supporting a candidate and cause you believe in,” said Monica Peitz, organizer of the Perry Democrats. “You’ll also walk away with a great gift — from Dr. Seuss to Judy Blume.”
Profits from the auction will help support local Democratic candidates. Checks can be made to the Dallas County Democrats, Peitz said.
