# Authors auction character names for torture survivors

> Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan let readers bid to name characters in their next novels, raising money for Freedom from Torture's 10th anniversary festival.
- Title: Authors auction character names for torture survivors
- Summary: Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan let readers bid to name characters in their next novels, raising money for Freedom from Torture's 10th…
- Keywords: zadie smith, margaret atwood, ian mcewan, freedom from torture, literary auction, character naming, write to life, london library, tracy chevalier, asylum policy, news, world
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/law/2026/oct/22/zadie-smith-margaret-atwood-ian-mcewan-public-bid-name-new-characters-charity-auction
- Published: 2026-10-22T15:13:50+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: zadie smith, margaret atwood, ian mcewan, freedom from torture, literary auction, character naming, write to life, london library, tracy chevalier, asylum policy, news, world
## Authors auction character names
Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan are among literary stars auctioning the chance for readers to name characters in their next novels to raise money for torture survivors.
## Festival celebrates storytelling
The auction is part of Freedom from Torture's tenth anniversary literary festival at the London Library on November eleventh, bringing together leading authors and survivors for poetry competitions and live readings.
## More than seventy-five contributors
Over seventy-five authors, poets, artists and illustrators are supporting the festival. Prizes include original artwork by Quentin Blake, a rare Mary Wollstonecraft book illustrated by William Blake, and a book club visit from Louise Doughty.
## Bookmark raffle features author designs
A bookmark raffle will feature more than thirty original designs by authors including David Nicholls, Mark Haddon, Felicity Cloake, Nathan Filer, Nikesh Shukla, Sathnam Sanghera and Jeremy Vine, each paired with a signed book.
## Write to Life inspires the festival
The festival is inspired by Write to Life, the UK's longest-running refugee writers group and believed to be the only one in the world for survivors of torture.
## Tracy Chevalier's character friendships
Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, has supported the charity's auctions since two thousand six.

> Names are important to me in my books. What I choose to call a character, who I'm going to live with in my head for the next few years, they need to mean something to me.
## Power of survivors telling their stories
Chevalier praised the festival for giving survivors the opportunity to share their experiences in their own words, saying writing allows people to control how they tell their story rather than having journalists or famous writers…

> The story of your life is inside of you and for a lot of people it's not great. They've had really terrible experiences and that pressure builds and to not only let it out, but control how you let it out.
## Asylum protections under threat
Samuel Morton, special events and philanthropy manager at Freedom from Torture, warned that government proposals to weaken the appeals system and growing European appetite to weaken legal safeguards risk sending survivors back to their torturers.

> Poor-quality asylum decisions risk sending survivors back into the hands of their torturers. These protections are fundamental and must not be weakened for political convenience.
## Key takeaway

Leading authors including Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan are auctioning the chance to name characters in their next novels to raise money for Freedom from Torture, a charity supporting survivors.