Author of "The Great Believers" issues a charity challenge

One author is giving back to a nonprofit that makes an appearance in her new novel.

A character in Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers mentions, as he prepares to leave a hospital, that the charity Open Hand has filled his refrigerator with groceries.

Now Makkai will donate a dollar for each photo of someone with that novel, shared on social media with the hashtag #TheGreatBelieversDonate, to Vital Bridges.

(Vital Bridges is what Open Hand became. It connects people in Chicago with HIV/AIDs to medical, food/nutrition, and psychosocial services.)

Makkai’s challenge runs from June 19 — her novel's release date — to September 19 and goes until she raises $5,000.

The Great Believers tells the intertwining stories of Yale Tishman, whose career as the development director of an art gallery takes off just as the AIDS epidemic begins to decimate those around him; and Fiona, sister of Yale’s late friend Nico, who must confront how the AIDS crisis affected her as she works to track down her estranged daughter.

Among Makkai’s other works are The Hundred-Year House, winner of the Chicago Writers Association award; The Borrower, a Booklist Top Ten Debut; and various award-winning short fiction.

Watch a video of her announcing the charity challenge below and read more about it on her website.