The Book Fairies and the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission have teamed up in 2020 to launch Trailblazing Book Fairies!

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In the U.S., February is Black History Month. On February 3, 2020 the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission (WSCC), a federal agency tasked with coordinating the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in America, assembled an elite team of book fairies to celebrate Black History Month through the power of literature!

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The D.C. Book Fairies traveled all over Washington D.C., dropping multiple copies of three books that tell the stories of African American women suffragists, leaders, and activists — Ida: A Sword Among Lions by Paula J. Giddings, She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, and the children’s book Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison. 

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The book fairies dropped books at Little Free Library boxes throughout the city, as well as at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Howard University, Gallaudet University and Union Station.

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One of the new book fairies stated:

“I’ve never done anything like this before! Taking the time to thoughtfully place these works all over Washington D.C. was so incredibly fun and I cannot wait to do it again!”

A new book fairy in Washington, D.C.

The D.C. Fairies reported actually seeing individuals discovering books and picking them up. As the fairies looked for more places to hide the titles, they would catch passersby running into already placed books and taking them with them.

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Another book fairy stated:

“Getting to see someone find a book that you place was so heartwarming. It really did feel like we were making magic happen in real time.”

– a book fairy in Washington D.C.

The commission looks forward to working with The Book Fairies again for Women’s History Month in March and throughout the 2020 centennial year!

Happy Reading!

Check out #trailblazingbookfairies on instagram to see where all the books were hidden.

Would you like to be a book fairy?

We love welcoming new book fairies to help us spread books around the world! All you need is a pack of official book fairy stickers and a pile of books you want to share – maybe a beautiful ribbon and off you go!