They are bestselling authors whose works sell for millions but yesterday writers from Margaret Atwood to Stephen King unveiled the first chapters

They are bestselling authors whose works sell for millions, but yesterday writers from Margaret Atwood to Stephen King unveiled the first chapters of their potential new blockbusters without taking a penny in a literary version of Live Aid for victims of the tsunami. “To glimpse the opening chapter of your favourite author’s new work before it is published will be an unprecedented experience for their fans.”Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl with the Pearl Earring, who contributes, added: “The British public have been impressively generous in the early days after the disaster. The anthology is a way of nudging people to continue giving over the long-term,” she said.The other writers featured are Alexander McCall Smith, Harlan Coben, Scott Turow, Vikram Seth, Joanna Trollope, Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, Nicholas Evans, Mark Haddon and Paulo Coelho. They have sold £150m of books between them in Britain in the past five years.In a literary puzzle to support the venture, we here present the first few lines from each chapter to match the style to the author.Can you distinguish the thriller king from the queen of the Aga saga? Do you know your Bookers from your bonkbusters? Answers at bottom of page1: Blood and Scissors It began when George was trying on a black suit in Alders the week before Bob Green’s Funeral.It was not the prospect of the funeral that had unsettled him Nor Bob dying. To be honest he had always found Bob’s locker-room bonhomie a little trying and he was secretly rather relieved that they would not be playing squash again. Moreover, the manner in which Bob had died was oddly reassuring, a heart attack watching the Boat Race on television two Sundays before.2: Second Honeymoon Edie put her hand out, took a breath and slowly, slowly pushed open his bedroom door The room inside looked as if he had never left it. The bed was unmade, the curtains half-drawn, the carpet almost invisible under trails of clothing.There were single trainers on shelves, mugs and cereal bowls on the floor, scatterings of papers and books everywhere.

On the walls, the same posters hung haphazardly from nuggets of blue gum; a Shakespeare play from a long ago school outing, Kate Moss in a mackintosh, the Stereophonics from a concert at Earls Court. It looked, at first glance, as it had looked for a large part of his 22 years. It looked as if he was coming back, any minute.3: Lisey’s Story The spouses of well-known writers are almost invisible; no one knows better than Lisey Landon, who has given only one actual interview in her life. This was for the well-known women’s magazine that publishes the column “Yes, I’m Married to Him!” She spent roughly half of its 500-word length explaining that her name (actually short for Lisa) rhymes with CeeCee. Most of the other half had to do with her recipe for slow-cooked roast beef.

Her sister Amanda, who can be mean, said that the accompanying photograph made Lisey look fat.4: The Innocent You never meant to kill him.Your name is Matt Hunter You are 20 years old. You grew up in an upper-middle-class suburb in northern New Jersey not far from Manhattan. You live on the poorer side of town, but it’s a pretty wealthy town Your parents work hard and love you unconditionally You are a middle child. You have an older brother whom you worship, and a younger sister whom you tolerate.Like every kid in your town, you grow up worrying about your future and what college you will get into. You work hard enough and get good, if not spectacular, grades Your average is an A minus. You don’t make the top 10 per cent but you’re close.5: Slow Man The blow catches him from the right, sharp and surprising and painful, like a bolt of electricity; lifting him up off the bicycle.