As ICE agents continue to disrupt daily life for Minnesotans, the book world's support of those most directly impacted by the presence of these agents is expanding. Kingdom of Threads, a Connecticut wholesaler that sells licensed book-themed merchandise to 1,000 bookstores and other retailers, is organizing a two-day online auction billed as Book Lovers for Liberation which will run February 17–19.
“Giving back, being a good member of the book community has always been a big part of our mission," said CEO Chelsea Brennan, who founded Kingdom of Threads in 2021. “We always donate 10% of profits to charities doing literacy and equality work.”
After Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by ICE agents on the streets of Minneapolis, “there was a little bit of paralysis—how can we take action and use our platform in the best way to bring readers together?” After reading about the Publishing for Minnesota online auction, which was held late last month and raised more than $220,000, Kingdom of Threads decided to set up its own online auction, which will feature signed ARCs and books, literary swag, collectibles, merch, and services.
Kingdom of Threads, Brennan explained, “sits in a really interesting cross-section between readers and authors and publishers and bookstores,” so it decided to organize a “more reader-centric” fundraiser that would appeal to readers, particularly of YA fantasy, authors of which tend to have enthusiastic fan bases eager for merch and collectibles.
Items and services up for bid include a signed first edition of Better in Black by Cassandra Clare; a signed ARC of We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune; an annotated copy of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett; a six-month mentorship program with literary agent Nicole Resciniti of Alliance Rights Agency; and a query submission critique package with S.J. Taylor.
“We've only posted a few of the things we have so far,” Brennan told PW. She noted that organizers have received 50 donations to date and are still accepting donations of items and services through February 13. “We're going to roll it out as we get closer to the actual auction date," she said.
The proceeds from the auction will go to nonprofits providing legal aid to immigrants and anti-ICE protesters, as well as a food bank serving the Twin Cities metro area. The organizations include four that serve Minnesotans: Immigrant Defense Network, the Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People food bank, Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, and Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.
Three national organizations—National Immigrant Justice Center, Immigrant Defense Project, and Democracy Forward—are also among the beneficiaries of the auction. “What's happening in Minnesota is front and center, but what ICE is doing is spreading," Brennan said. "There are people all over the country who really need help.”
Like the Publishing for Minnesota auction, the winning bidders will have 48 hours to demonstrate to organizers that they have paid in full for the auctioned item or service by presenting a receipt. Kingdom of Threads will then coordinate with donors and winning bidders to exchange the items.
Brennan noted that she had heard that the Publishing for Minnesota organizers had been hit with doctored receipts by scammers, and said that Kingdom of Threads has already donated to all of the organizations who are this auction’s beneficiaries, “so we know what their receipts look like.”
Brennan said that she and her 12 employees have been “embracing the fact that reading is political,” and that one can use books to make a statement. "Seeing the community come together for this moment has been very inspiring.”
