Uncategorized | March 07, 2005

It’s not exactly the same as 90,000 sweaty bodies packed into a stadium to throb and dance as the stars of rock ‘n roll sing and prance to raise funds for hunger relief across the world, but the literary world finally has its own answer to Live Aid. Sixteen authors, including Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Nick Hornby, Ian McEwan, and J.M. Coetzee are contributing first chapters of forthcoming works to an anthology, New Beginnings, the sales of which will aid victims of the tsunami. The Independent, in Great Britain, has provided in its pages (and on its website) a sort of literary puzzle to help support the cause. It provides the first few lines from each first chapter and challenges the reader to match the author with the passage (the answers are at the bottom of the page). The book is being published in both English and German with distriubtion assistance from Bloomsbury.