Bid Your Way Into A Bestselling Novel

Posted on August 16, 2005

Several bestselling authors are allowing readers to bid on character names on eBay in an effort to raise money for the First Ammendment Project (FAP). 100% of the proceeds will go towards FAP. Here are a few of the character name offerings:

• Stephen King: "One (and only one) character name in a novel called Cell, which is now in work and which will appear in either 2006 or 2007. Buyer should be aware that Cell is a violent piece of work, which comes complete with zombies set in motion by bad cell phone signals that destroy the human brain. Like cheap whiskey, it's very nasty and extremely satisfying. Character can be male or female, but a buyer who wants to die must in this case be female. In any case, I'll require physical description of auction winner, including any nickname (can be made up, I don't give a rip)."
• Lemony Snicket: "An utterance by Sunny Baudelaire in Book the Thirteenth. Pronunciation and/or spelling may be slightly 'mutilated.' An example of this is in The Grim Grotto when Sunny utters 'Bushcheney.' Target publication date is Fall 2006."
• Michael Chabon: "Your name or the name of your choosing will appear at least once in the next novel I write. I reserve the right not to use the name if it is offensive, mischievous, ill-intentioned or inappropriate."
• Neil Gaiman: "My next novel will be called The Graveyard BooK. It's a children's novel, and will be published, er, when it's published. Maybe in 2007 or failing that, 2008. It will have lots of gravestones in it. Your name, or the name of someone you love (who won't mind) can be on a gravestone."
• John Grisham: Your name or a name of your choosing will appear as a fictional character in my next novel. The character will be portrayed in a good light. My next novel should be published either in 2007 or 2008. The name you choose cannot be that of a real person other than yourself."
• Nora Roberts: "Your name or the name you choose will be used for a character in my novel to be published in 2006."

  Here is the schedule of character name bids:

• September 1-10: Michael Chabon, Amy Tan, Peter Straub, Andrew Sean Greer, Karen Joy Fowler
• September 8-18: Stephen King, Lemony Snicket, Dorothy Allison, Jonathan Lethem, Ayelet Waldman
• September 15-25: John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Neil Gaiman, Dave Eggers, Rick Moody, ZZ Packer

Neil Gaiman, who came up with fundraising idea and suggested it to author Michael Chabon, has also posted information about the character name auctions here in his journal.