This year's First Amendment Project character name auction is underway on eBay. Check it out at www. ebay. com/fap

Prominent Authors Again To Raise Money For First Amendment Project eBay

Charity Auction Starts September 7th and Runs Through September 23rd, 2006.

Fourteen of America's most prominent authors, including John Lescroart, Carl Hiaasen, Elinor Lipman, Francine Prose and Edward P. Jones are participating in this year's character name charity auction to raise money for First Amendment Project (FAP) through eBay Giving Works, the dedicated program for charity listings, starting on September 7th and running through September 23rd, 2006. The authors will auction off the chance to name a character in their upcoming books, and donate the proceeds to the FAP, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing free and low cost legal services to protect freedom of information, expression, and petition. Some authors are also offering wining bidders the opportunity to speak on the telephone.

The authors participating in the FAP auction at www. ebay. com/fap include: Kevin J. Anderson, Emily Barton, Stephen Elliott, Tim Green, Carl Hiaasen, Edward P.
Jones, John Lescroart, Elinor Lipman, Phillip Margolin, Lorrie Moore, Patricia Polacco, Douglas Preston, Francine Prose, and Chris Ware. The authors represent the full spectrum of literary genres, from children's literature to science fiction, to graphic novels, to mysteries and thrillers.
Additional authors may still be added.

Last year's charity auction, featuring Stephen King, John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Amy Tan, Michael Chabon, Lemony Snicket and 11 other prominent authors raised over $150,000 for the organization. The 2005 charity auction was among the most closely watched charity auctions on eBay for several weeks and attracted bids from around the world. Authors Brad Meltzer, David Brin and Chris Offutt, eager to help the cause, joined after the start of last year's event. The fundraising effot was conceived by First Amendment Project advisory board member Michael Chabon and author Neil Gaiman.

"We again this year asked literary artists to sacrifice a bit of their own artistic freedom in order to promote freedom of expression for all," says David Greene Executive Director and Staff Counsel for FAP. "We, again, were overwhelmed by the response from the literary community.
First Amendment Project is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free and low cost legal services on free speech issues. The authors who are helping us with this auction understand how fundamental First Amendment rights are and how without organizations like FAP being vigilant in preserving them, our nation's democratic and creative cultures will suffer."

The authors speak:

"There's nothing more important to democracy: protecting and fighting for the right of free
expression. It's a battle that began at the birth of our Constitution, and is carried on in the courts today by the First Amendment Project." Carl Hiaasen.

"The First Amendment is the cornerstone of American liberty. Our freedoms to speak and to write are our most sacred legacy. We are living in a time when First Amendment rights are under siege. I'm involved in this auction to show my support for the First Amendment against all its enemies." John Lescroart

"As a science fiction writer, I like to push ideas, stretch my imagination, provoke people to think along new paths. That frightens others who like to believe they have the "only" way.
Unfortunately, some of those people are in positions of power and try to enforce their opinions as law. We need staunch groups to stand up against those agendas and let people have their say. It's the only way the truth can keep getting out." Kevin J. Anderson

"Everything I do--everything this country is about--depends on the First Amendment." Francine Prose.

Conducting the charity auction is Auction Cause, a premier online auction management agency specializing in high impact and high value eBay charity auctions for nonprofits and their corporate partners. Auction Cause also conducted the 2005 auction.