The original Calendar Girls were a group of Yorkshire woman who posed nude to raise money for Leukaemia research in 1999. Since then, college sports teams, military units, and musical groups have all stripped down to raise money for a noble cause. And of course, now authors are getting in on the action to once again prove the old adage "Sex sells."
Canadian author Amanda Leduc and Allegra Young, a classical music producer, are the founders of Bare It For Books, a calendar project where famous Canadian authors will tastefully take it all off and pose in "nearly nude" positions in the name of charity. Proceeds from the calendar will go to PEN Canada, an organization that promotes freedom of expression for writers around the world. The group currently has a fundraising campaign to help pay for the calendar's costs.
What started as a Twitter prompt last year grew as positive responses from authors poured in. The Bare It For Books 2014 calendar will show nude photos of 12 authors including Life of Pi author Yann Martel. Rawr.
Could this be a new trend for bibliophiles? Last month, Sci-Fi author Jim. C. Hines posed as vixens from science fiction novels to raise money to fight Aicardi Syndrome -- a series that's more laughs than lust. Photographer Lauren Zurchin started a Kickstarter project that ends this month to make a naked charity calendar with 14 fantasy fiction writers. The list includes Gregory Maguire, who proves that more than just his books can get Wicked.
Which author would you want to see pose naked for a charity calendar? Let us know in the comments!