ABFFE Holiday Auction a Success

The bidding was fast and furious in the final hours of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression’s (ABFFE) holiday auction of children’s book art, which started on December 1 and ended December 8. When the final gavel fell, the eBay auction raised more than $14,000 to support ABFFE’s defense of the free speech rights of kids, an increase of 40 percent compared to the previous year.

The auction included nearly 100 pieces of art by leading illustrators. Works by Jon J Muth, Jared Chapman, William Wegman, Melissa Iwai, Eric Carle, Adam Rex, LeUyen Pham, and Leslie Patricelli brought in the highest bids, including one for $2,750.

“We are delighted by the success of this year’s holiday auction,” said ABFFE President Chris Finan. “And we are so grateful to the artists who donated and to the booksellers who helped us promote the auction.”

The children’s art auction is a mainstay of ABFFE’s fundraising for the Kids’ Right to Read Project (KRRP), which it co-sponsors with the National Coalition Against Censorship. The auction, which is also held at the ABA’s Winter Institute and at BookExpo America, will continue after ABFFE becomes the American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) Group at ABA next year. The ABFE Group will support KRRP as well as Banned Books Week, the national celebration of the freedom to read.