In aid of Freedom from Torture, bids invited for a place in new work by the Jack Reacher author and others including Margaret Atwood and Julian Barnes

A good number of Jack Reacher fans will have dreamed of joining one of the crime-busting hero’s plots. Now it could become a reality, in print at least. Reacher’s creator Lee Child is among a number of well-known authors offering the chance to name a character in their latest books as part of a charity auction in aid of survivors of torture.

Man Booker prize winners Margaret Atwood and Julian Barnes are also offering naming rights in forthcoming novels alongside other leading writers including Marian Keyes, Joanna Trollope and Women’s prize 2018 winner Kamila Shamsie.

In aid of Freedom from Torture, money raised from the auction will be used to help survivors of torture rebuild their lives. “Torture victims are the most damaged and demoralised people among us, so any move to embrace, console and help them is to be applauded and supported,” Child said of his decision to choose this above other charity requests he receives.

He added that the winning bidder will name a character to appear alongside Reacher in Blue Moon, due for publication in 2019. Of the character’s likely personality, the author said he or she will “no doubt be dispensing justice”.

Atwood said her involvement in the event, which takes place on 15 November under the name Freedom: Not Just Another Word, was prompted by concerns for the political crisis engulfing the world. “In my novels, I often write about a world that is without liberty and human rights. This fiction is a cruel reality for the torture survivors who are supported by Freedom from Torture.” She added: “This year’s auction is a timely reminder that while the world is an increasingly scary place, our voices are powerful, and we still have the freedom to use them.”

As well as naming rights, the lots on offer will include a signed screenplay and other memorabilia donated by Helen Mirren, the chance to commission a large work of art by Quentin Blake and a portrait by political cartoonist and former children’s laureate Chris Riddell.

Riddell said he was looking forward to fulfilling his pledge. “I enjoy drawing portraits because most of my children’s book illustration involves drawing imaginary characters, so it is rewarding to draw from life sometimes, especially for such a good cause,” he said.

Authors do not guarantee named characters will resemble the winning bidder, although Julian Barnes, who has been involved in the biennial event for a number of years, said two years ago that it was likely they would be sympathetic “unless, of course, you’d like it otherwise; in which case you are allowed to specify - though no promises can be made”.

Luke Squires’s winning bid from 2004 gives a flavour of what’s in store for successful participants. His money won him the right to appear in an Adam Mars-Jones’s next book. He eventually gave his name to a “sexually precocious schoolboy” in the 2008 novel Pilcrow.

Although opening bids are placed at £150 to £250, lots are expected to far exceed these amounts. In 2016, £30,000 was raised for the charity, which has centres across the UK. The highest bid was £2,500, to be a character in Ian McEwan’s next novel.

Auctioning off naming rights has become a popular means of fundraising in recent years. As well as helping authors in search of inspiration, the world of botany has used it with great effect.

In 2007, an auction to name a new butterfly species held by the Florida Museum of Natural History raised $40,800 (£32,000) after the butterfly was named Opsiphanes blythekitzmillerae, in honour of Margery Minerva Blythe Kitzmiller of Ohio on behalf of her five grandchildren. In June this year, money raised to name a group of newly discovered snail-eating snakes was used for the serpents’ conservations.

Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin killed two birds with one stone in 2014, when two fans paid $20,000 each to have a character in their name meet a violent and bloody end in the fantasy saga. The money went to a food bank and a wolf sanctuary. Should the fans tire of waiting for Martin’s next book, eight other bidders were on a waiting list to replace them.

Tickets priced £50 each for the Freedom from Torture event, which will be held at the Savoy in London, are on sale now. Would-be bidders unable to attend on the day can submit bids online.