ABFFE & PEN American Center Offer Special Joint Membership

Booksellers can now take advantage of a special, limited-time membership offer to join both the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and PEN American Center for just $50, the usual price for ABFFE membership alone.

In a letter to booksellers, ABFFE President Chris Finan and A.M. Homes, chair of the PEN Membership Committee, noted that the two organizations have fought side by side for the last six years to restore the safeguards for reader privacy eliminated by the Patriot Act. "Our efforts helped convince Congress to give booksellers and librarians the right to challenge Patriot Act orders in court," they wrote. "ABFFE and PEN are also fighting against the censorship of books in our schools and libraries. In 2006, more than 500 challenges were reported to the American Library Association."

ABFFE stands ready to assist any bookseller confronting a free speech issue, including search warrants, subpoenas, or customer complaints. Membership in ABFFE includes a ready-to-frame statement, "To Our Customers," that declares a bookstore's commitment to protect the First Amendment and privacy rights of its customers; the ABFFE handbook, Censorship and First Amendment Rights: A Primer; the pamphlet "Protecting Customer Privacy in Bookstores"; and ABFFE Update, a monthly e-mail newsletter. ABFFE will also send new members several of its popular FREADOM products, including a decal for the store's window, a pin, and, exclusively for this membership appeal only, a colorful FREADOM T-shirt.

As an Associate Member of PEN, booksellers will be joining "a community of 3,300 of this country's most distinguished writers, translators, and editors who continue PEN's long tradition of fighting for the freedom to write and [who] are directly responsible for the release of imprisoned writers every year." In addition to taking part in PEN's important work, new Associate Members will receive a subscription to the award-winning journal PEN America; a discounted subscription to the online database Grants and Awards Available to American Writers; access to the Associate Member Exchange (an online bulletin board); and discounts and invitations to select PEN public programs and events, including the World Voices festival.

A regular ABFFE membership is $50 per year; PEN charges its Associate Members $40. Until May 1, booksellers can join both organizations for just $50. Join now.

At this year's BookExpo America, ABFFE and PEN are co-sponsoring with ACLU, "Something to Hide: Readings Against the Surveillance State," featuring readings from Azar Nafisi, Andre Dubus III, Roxanna Robinson, Denis Lahanne, and many others. The event will be held on Saturday, May 31, at 2:30 p.m. (See related story.)