Tucson Writers Workshop
(The Back Page)

Starting on September 1 and continuing for 25 days, some of the world's favorite authors will allow Ebay bidders to supply a character name for a forthcoming novel.

Bestselling authors included in the auction are Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, John Grisham, Michael Chabon, Nora Roberts, Amy Tan, Lemony Snicket, Dave Eggers, Dorothy Allison, Peter Straub, ZZ Packer, Jonathan Lethem, Rick Moody, Ayelet Waldman, Andrew Sean Greer and Karen Joy Fowler.

The character names will be auctioned off as part of a charity to benefit the First Amendment Project, whose lawyers fight court battles to protect free speech rights of activists, artists and writers. The authors hope to raise $50,000, which will go to support the organization’s pro bono work representing clients being sued over free speech, free press and freedom of expression.

Chabon, who won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” said his own work would be meaningless without the freedoms afforded under the First Amendment.

Stephen King says that he'll allow the highest bidder to name a character in his next zombie novel, Neil Gaiman says his winning bidder will get to choose the name on a tombstone, and John Grisham says that the character name chosen for his next book will be portrayed “in a good light.”