Foundation Announces Auction for Naming a Character in Clyde Edgerton's Next Novel, The Night Train
Today the Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation launched an online auction where the highest bidder will see their name — or a loved one's name — among the cast of characters in Clyde Edgerton's forthcoming novel, THE NIGHT TRAIN. ( See the book cover to the right! )
The auction is the first in a series of special fundraisers the Library Foundation will host in 2011 and 2012, allowing the public to bid on unique Chapel Hill Experiences, unavailable anywhere else. Proceeds from these auctions will benefit the Chapel Hill Public Library and help support the work of the Foundation.
"Like Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill Public Library is a special place," says Clyde Edgerton. "Libraries are used more heavily now than ever before in our nation's history. The Chapel Hill Public Library is one of the busiest libraries in North Carolina. I want to honor the library's contributions by contributing what I can. And for the cause I can take a name supplied by an auction winner and use it in the novel."
One condition, set by Edgerton, is that he and the auction winner have a one-on-one conversation. Edgerton wants to figure out the best way to incorporate the name into his fictional work, destined to be a part of American literature and our common culture.
The Night Train, described as an uplifting coming of age story set in rural North Carolina, will be published by Little, Brown in July 2011. It will be available in both print and audio book.
The auction will run today through JANUARY 30th. Bidders are invited to bookmark this page and check back for information on future auctions.
— THE AUCTION HAS ENDED. WINNING BID $611 —
Click the button below to to the auction in eBay.
All bidders will need an eBay account. The winner of the auction will make payment by PayPal at the conclusion of the auction. (If the winner does not have a PayPal account and needs assistance, we will help.)
"When you bid, think of yourself, a family member, or a Valentine. The winner's name will live in print, happily ever after," says Melissa Cain, Executive Director of the Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation. "I know of one bidder who hopes to win so her daughter, who loves to read, will be named in the novel."
ABOUT CLYDE EDERTON
Edgerton was born in Durham, N.C. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and teaches Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is the author of nine novels. The Night Train will be his tenth.
The author, songwriter and musician frequently gives his time to support nonprofit community work in North Carolina. In 2007, Edgerton was the host author for a Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation benefit. With his distinctive voice and trademark humor, Edgerton read from THE BIBLE SALESMAN and performed on banjo and guitar.
Many of his novels have been performed as plays and musicals. In February, the musical adaptation of Edgerton's novel, LUNCH AT THE PICADILLY opens in Winston-Salem.
Read the Press Release.
Many thanks to The Splinter Group for their generous assistance with this auction.
