Ebay Charity Auction for Polaris Project, anti-slavery org

EBAY CHARITY AUCTION:

NAME A CHARACTER IN T.K. KENYON'S NEXT NOVEL.

PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT ANTI-SLAVERY ORG

POLARIS PROJECT

T.K. Kenyon, novelist, is auctioning off the naming rights for a character in her next novel. All proceeds from the auction will go to Polaris Project, an anti-human-trafficking and anti-slavery charity. The 10-day auction on Ebay.com will begin on Monday, July 2, 2007, and run through Thursday, July 12, 2007.

Pictures can be downloaded from the "Online Media Room" area at www.tkkenyon.com. Additional quotes, interviews, and information are available via the above phone numbers, websites, and emails.

Erin Williamson, Development Coordinator at Polaris Project, said, "Polaris Project is happy to work with TK Kenyon to bring greater awareness and support to issues of human trafficking and modern-day slavery."

T.K. Kenyon said, "I'm pleased to support Polaris Project with this charitable auction. Some of the themes for my third novel (in research phase) are slavery and human trafficking. Polaris Project is a grass-roots organization like the Underground Railroad in the 1800's that works through the legal system, legislature, and by directly supporting rescued victims of human trafficking. Imagine being kidnapped from your home, often smuggled across the globe, and forced to work as a sex slave. The crimes of trafficking and slavery are predominantly committed against women and children. Polaris Project works to stop these horrific crimes and to help people recover their lives after they're rescued."

T.K. Kenyon said, "One of my ancestors ran a 'station' on the Underground Railroad in the 1800's. While it might be amusing to think there's a genetic connection to fighting slavery, any decent person confronted with such horrific crimes must be moved to act."

Polaris Project is a leading international organization combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Based in the United States and Japan, Polaris Project brings together community members, survivors, and professionals to fight trafficking and slavery in the spirit of a modern-day Underground Railroad. Polaris Project uses a comprehensive strategy: empowering individual survivors of trafficking while also creating long-term social change.

An estimated 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked annually in the United States alone. The number of US citizens trafficked within the country are even higher, with an estimated more than 200,000 American children at high risk for trafficking into the sex industry each year. Trafficking in persons is the third largest criminal industry in the world today, after arms and drug dealing, and is the fastest growing. Internationally, traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits every year while victimizing millions of people.

The Ebay listing will be as follows (Note the "Golden Casino Clause" near the end):

NAME A CHARACTER IN A NOVEL

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Auction winner may name a minor but significant character in a forthcoming novel by TK Kenyon, which is expected to be published in 2008. All proceeds will be donated to The Polaris Project, a 501(c) charity and are thus tax-deductible donations. Part of the money will, of course, go to Ebay. That part is not tax-deductible.

The auction will begin on July 2, 2007 and end on July 12, 2007.

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Have you ever wanted to have a character in book named after you? Or give someone a truly special, one-of-a-kind gift?

This is your chance to name a character in a novel! TK Kenyon, author of the recent novel RABID, is auctioning off the naming rights of a character in her next novel, which has the working title SATANIC. (Think: Arthur Miller's play The Crucible.) The highest bidder wins the naming rights for one minor but significant character, subject to the guidelines below. The character's name will be mentioned at least 10 times, and the character will be described as attractive.

This charity auction benefits Polaris Project, a 501(c) charity (which means donations are tax-deductible.) Polaris Project is a leading international organization combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Based in the United States and Japan, Polaris Project brings together community members, survivors, and professionals to fight trafficking and slavery in the spirit of a modern-day Underground Railroad. Polaris Project uses a comprehensive strategy: empowering individual survivors of trafficking while also creating long-term social change.

These are the general guidelines of the auction, written in English. These guidelines are subject to change at any time. The winner of the auction and the named-for person must sign a contract written in legalese that says much the same things.

The highest bidder in the auction will donate the amount of the winning bid directly to Polaris Project via PayPal or other arrangement. Polaris Project will then notify the author to proceed. Polaris Project will provide the winner all the paperwork necessary to make the donation tax-deductible. The author will not handle the money.

The highest bidder wins the right to name a minor but significant character in the novel after themselves or someone over the age of 18. The winner and the person whose name is used for the character (if different) must sign a contract stating that they wish their name to be used and waiving the right to sue the author for using their name. If the person named is different than the auction winner and the named person will not sign the contract, the winner can name a second person or defer to the next highest auction bidder. Do not name celebrities unless you actually know or are them. Minors (people under 18 years old) may neither bid in the auction nor be the person for whom a character is named. The character may not be named after a fictional character, a historical person, or anyone else who is not legally able to sign a contract. If you wish to name the character in memoriam for a deceased person whom you knew, arrangements may be made.

The winner will have their choice of three different characters to name, but they only get to name one. One character is saintly, one is damaged and deep, and one is tough but has a heart of gold. The auction winner will receive short descriptions of each character and a draft of one short scene for each character prior to their decision. The character's name will appear at least 10 times in the novel, and the character will be described as attractive.

If the name used for the character is an ethnic or otherwise identifiable name, the author reserves the right to make minor changes to the character to match the name. Gender of the character will also match the name.

The author has published one novel (RABID: A Novel, ISBN: 1601640021) with the publisher KUNATI. KUNATI plans to publish the author's next novel in 2008. However, the publishing business is dicey. In the unlikely event that the author's next novel is not scheduled for 2008 by KUNATI, the author will notify Polaris Project and the auction winner and inform the winner what the author's next steps will be, which may be delaying the novel with KUNATI or seeking another publisher. The auction winner then will have options including but not limited to retracting the donation or deferring it until the novel has secured a publisher and publication date (but please remember that it's tax-deductible and Polaris Project is a very worthy cause.) These financial arrangements will be made with Polaris Project.

The auction winner and the person for whom the character is named will each receive five free copies of the novel (working title: SATANIC) when it is published. If the auction winner is the same as the named-for person, s/he will receive ten copies.

GOLDEN CASINO CLAUSE: If the winner of the auction is a corporate entity or a person acting for a corporate entity or utilizes the name of a corporate entity, all the members of the corporation's governing board must sign the indemnity waiver, which will be drawn up by the good lawyers at the Polaris Project. In addition, if the winner is or is acting for or utilizes the name of a corporate entity for the named character, the preceding guidelines will be null and void, and the author will decide which character will receive the name of the corporate entity and will use the name in such a way as to mock the corporate entity. In addition, because the donation to Polaris Project may be construed as advertising, the donation may not be tax-deductible. Caveat emptor.

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