It was a traumatic weekend for Americans everywhere, as the news broke on Saturday morning that 37-year-old Minnesotan, Alex Pretti, had been murdered by ICE agents on a busy street south of downtown Minneapolis. Publishing professionals Mabel Hsu and Zoey Cole, who live and work in New York City, were devastated by the news—and decided to do something about it,

The result is Publishing for Minnesota, a group of industry insiders organizing a two-day online auction on January 29–30 to raise funds for Minnesotans and immigrants elsewhere.

Hsu, co-editorial director for Sourcebooks’ Stonefruit Studio children’s imprint, told PW that upon hearing of Pretti’s death, she contacted Cole, her friend and the associate director of marketing at Zando, who grew up in Minnesota and had once lived in the Twin Cities.

“We were feeling really upset and distraught and angry at the administration and ICE,” Hsu recalled. “What can we do? It feels crazy to think that it would be business as usual come Monday—and it's not; it can't be.”

Maintaining that people in publishing are “some of the most intelligent and passionate people,” who are “always ready to get to work,” Hsu said she and Cole reached out on Saturday night through their personal social media feeds, asking for assistance in organizing an auction. “Within a couple of moments,” she said, children’s authors and illustrators Emmy Kastner and Lian Cho responded.

By midday Sunday, Hsu’s co-editor at Stonefruit Studio, Ben Rosenthal; Scholastic executive editor Katie Heit; and children’s author-illustrator Laura Sandoval Herrera were also on board. An Instagram page was launched and “requests for donations made to all of our networks; it just kind of took off from there,” Hsu said.

By Monday morning, the group had received approximately 550 donations of products and services for the auction, from authors, editors, agents, and illustrators.

Proceeds from the auction will support organizations providing legal aid, emergency assistance, food, and community resources to Minnesotans in urgent need due to ICE’s activities.

Among the offerings at the auction are signed books, author headshots, original art, critiques for novels and picture books, marketing feedback, portfolio reviews, and “art jam sessions.”

Hsu specifically shouted out donations from PBS librarian Mychal Threets, who is offering a “social media collaboration”; author Erin Entrada Kelly, who is offering a manuscript review; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editor-in-chief Alvina Ling, who is offering a 30-minute consultation; and original art from Monica Arnaldo, Sally Deng, Shawn Harris, Adam Rex, and Steven Weinberg.

Though most of the auction items come from the kidlit community, Hsu noted that there’s also items for those interested in adult books or writing for adults, such as a novel critique by Christa Desir, editorial director of Sourcebooks’ romance imprints; a 45-minute Zoom session with Amanda Uhle, memoirist and publisher of McSweeney’s; and 30-minute consults with Anna Montague, a nonfiction editor at Henry Holt, and literary agent Michael Taeckens of Massie McQuilkin.

Winning bidders will have 48 hours to show confirmation of having made a donation to one of the following organizations: Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota; Women’s Foundation of Minnesota; Midwest Immigrant Bond Fund; Dios Habla Hoy Church Food Distribution (South Minneapolis); Community Aid Network MN; and Central Area Neighborhood Development.

Bidders can also donate to two organizations outside of Minnesota: the Immigrant Defense Project and HandsOffNYC.

Hsu urges bidders to donate to these organizations, even if they don’t make the winning bids. And, she added, “I would also encourage people to support their local bookstores, because they’re on the ground, they're acting like community hubs to those in need. They've been so inspiring to us, causing us to remember the power of collective action.”

Update: An earlier version of this story mis-identified Anna Montague's place of employment and has been corrected.