Authors take the #IceBucketChallenge
It’s the charitable craze that’s taken the internet by ice-cold storm–er, wave. Amanda Stevenson clues us in on some of the book world’s finest who, among the A-list celebrities, politicians, and your Facebook feed frenzied friends, have taken the #IceBucketChallenge for ALS…
I’m sure you’ve heard of the #IceBucketChallenge for ALS–you’d have to be living under a rock if you haven’t by now–but what is ALS?
Well, if you’ve heard of MND (motor neuron disease), you’ll have a sense of what ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is–ALS is a form of MND. It’s a neurodegenerative disease, causing rapid weakness to the body until all forms of movement are stunted by it. Movement becomes difficult, muscles weaken, and the person afflicted by it loses the ability to walk, talk, and, eventually, breathe.
The disease kills whomever is affected. There is no cure.
That’s where the charity trend comes in. If you’re challenged, you either donate $100 to the ALS Association (or the Motor Neurone Disease Association), or you dump water on yourself and donate $10. No matter what, you give!
The #IceBucketChallenge has raised nearly $80 million for the ALS Association since 29 July, and at least £250,000 for the UK Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The following authors chose to participate in the challenge, some with more–let’s say interesting–videos than others. I’ll let you decide.
George R.R. Martin
The creator of Westeros took the challenge, alluding to his series, A Song of Ice and Fire, as he shouted, “God help us all, winter is coming!” He was nominated by a few authors, including…
Neil Gaiman
The hugely successful fantasy writer had several women, all dressed as Death, collect his clothes (yes, there’s partial nudity) along a beach while he explained why he chose to participate. Once he’s stripped down to his briefs, it’s a bucket full of icy seawater for the American Gods author…
John Grisham
The legal thriller author stepped up to the challenge–or, rather, stood under it–as he was pelted by ice cubes, cigar between clenched teeth. It wasn’t A Time to Kill so much as ‘A Time to Freeze’…
Julie Kagawa
This YA writer, author of The Iron Fey series, smiles throughout her icy splash. Which is more than we can say for…
Dan Santat
The children’s author and illustrator took the bucket with a brave face. Was there a hint of Crankenstein in his take…?
Stephen King
The acclaimed horror author did the challenge in honour of a friend of his, who suffers from the disease. Not quite Carrie, but then, the
Simone Elkeles
The YA author dumped water over herself after being challenged by a fan. It’s almost Better Than Perfect…
Samantha Shannon
The Bone Season author took the challenge, but seemed a little less … enthused about it than others. As she wrote in the description, “I envisioned myself doing this with great dignity. Oh well.”
Patrick Rothfuss
This fantasy writer went another route, using a very different kind of ice. The author of The Name of the Wind was challenged by…
Jim Butcher
The author of The Dresden Files series went a step further. He sat in a bathtub full of ice, had ice water dumped over his head, then proceeded to eat ice cream…
Brandon Sanderson
This fantasy author, however, seemed completely unfazed — keeping to the task in front of him…maybe the next Stormlight Archive novel?
If you’d like to donate, you can text ‘ICED55′ to 70070 with the amount you’d like to give.
Which author’s video was your favourite? Did I miss anyone? Let me know in the comments!
