Online Auction of Children’s Book Art Underway to Support Free Speech

On Friday, September 9, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) launched a three-week online auction on eBay, featuring more than 70 works of art by leading children’s book  illustrators, including Peter Brown, Susan Jeffers, Wendell Minor, Adam Rex, and Paul O. Zelinsky. The auction will culminate during Banned Books Week (September 24 – October  1), the only national celebration of the freedom to read.

“This is the first time that the children’s art auction has been conducted online,” said ABFFE President Chris Finan. “We are very excited to be able to offer original works by the industry’s top artists to their fans around the world.”

One-third of the art will be auctioned each week with new works posted on Fridays.  Items can be located on the ABFFE eBay page, myworld.ebay.com/abffe.

In May, ABFFE became the beneficiary of the auction that formerly benefitted the Association of Booksellers for Children.  More than 100 pieces were sold at a silent auction at BookExpo America in New York, raising more than $30,000 to support ABFFE’s defense of the free speech rights of young readers.  In addition to sponsoring Banned Books Week, ABFFE co-sponsors the Kids Right to Read Project with the National Coalition Against Censorship.

ABFFE has created a flyer for the Banned Books Week auction for booksellers to download and distribute to their customers.