A literary auction raising money to help vaccinate the world against coronavirus has made more than £23,000 so far, as book lovers bid to win signed novels by authors including Hilary Mantel, as well as mentoring sessions from star publishers and agents. Bidding at Books for Vaccines for a personal consultation with literary agent Jonny Geller has reached £1,000, while a signed box set of the Wolf Hall trilogy, with handwritten first sentences from Mantel, has topped £600. All money raised is going to Care International, a charity working to tackle vaccine inequality in poorer nations. “The situation in India is particularly heartbreaking and the inequality of the vaccine rollout is incredibly unfair,” said publisher and thriller author Phoebe Morgan, who launched the initiative. Bidding will remain open until midnight on 21 May.

Source: The Guardian May 18, 2021 12:11 UTC