# The Unburnable Book

> Atwood’s flamethrower video promoted a fireproof book that sold for $130,000.

- Owner: Penguin Random House
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: 2022-05-23
- Peak date: Week of May 24, 2022
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 50 (Notable), v1.2
- Mechanics: Real-world spectacle, Scarcity drop, Visible in use, Platform jump, Newsjacking

## Summary

PRH and Rethink launched Atwood’s flamethrower video alongside a fireproof book at the PEN gala. Press and Reddit picked it up. The single edition sold for $130,000 for PEN America, and Atwood later discussed the stunt on Seth Meyers.

## Timeline

- 2022-05-23 — Penguin Random House (YouTube) — PRH premiered a video of Margaret Atwood testing a fireproof Handmaid’s Tale with a flamethrower.
- 2022-05-23 — PEN America (Open web) — The fireproof edition was unveiled at PEN America’s Literary Gala in New York.
- 2022-05-23 — Sotheby’s (Open web) — Sotheby’s opened the auction for the single fireproof edition, with proceeds pledged to PEN America.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/the-unburnable-book

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “The Unburnable Book.” Case HIS-00716. Spread Score v1.2: 50/100. Updated 2026-10-14. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00716