National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month, often shortened to NaNoWriMo ( ), is an annual creative writing challenge that takes place in November of each year. Participants are tasked with writing a 50,000-word novel draft by the end of the month, aiming for an average of 1,667 words each day. Writers are instructed to prioritize speed and quantity over quality, with the 50,000 word count being the primary goal (although writers are free to edit their drafts after the competition). The U.S. based nonprofit organization that founded the project closed in 2025 due to scandals and financial issues, but the event lives on through community-led initiatives and alternative platforms like NaNo 2.0.

The project began in July 1999 in San Francisco with 21 participants. It snowballed over the next two decades, with over 400,000 people participating in 2022. In March 2025, the organization announced it was shutting down, with interim executive director Kilby Blades publishing a YouTube video citing financial struggles and "community vitriol" as the reasons for closure.

During the 25 years of the organization's existence, its website provided participants—called "Wrimos"—with an online community of support, information about local meetups, and tips for writer's block. Writers wishing to participate first registered on the project's website, where they could post profiles and information about their novels, including synopses and excerpts, and give each other feedback. Well-known authors wrote "pep talks" to motivate participants throughout the month. Regional volunteers, called "Municipal Liaisons," provided networking and advice, and organized in-person and virtual writing events for local writers.

History

Freelance writer Chris Baty founded the project in July 1999 with 21 participants in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2000, he moved the event to November "to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather." Although Baty was happy with the large turnout and popularity of the event, he and the organization were not prepared to manage that many participants. The website had several glitches, Municipal Liaisons also acted as leaders for a specific region under their jurisdiction—organizing fundraisers and calling meetings for NaNoWriMo participants residing in their region. Baty also began work on his debut book No Plot? No Problem! during the 2003 NaNoWriMo, writing the NaNoWriMo guide concurrently with his own novel.

In 2006, NaNoWriMo was registered as a nonprofit organization due to the event growing strongly every year.

In 2011, the NaNoWriMo website was given a new layout and forums. Baty announced that he would be stepping down as executive director in January 2012 to pursue a full-time writing career. Grant Faulkner took his position as executive director. The redesigned website moved from the web server Drupal to Ruby on Rails. During the first month after launch, the new website supported over 1,000,000 visitors and more than 39,000,000 page views.

By 2015, 431,626 people participated (633 different regions) in NaNoWriMo. Of those participants, more than 40,000 won.

In 2017, NaNoWriMo launched fundraising efforts to redesign the website again, raising $57,320. The new website was delayed, launching in 2019.

In late 2023, Grant Faulkner left the position of executive director. 2024 saw several staffing changes and the appointment of former board president Kilby Blades as interim director, while Faulkner held the position of Financial Stewardship Director from December 2023 to February 2024. That year, the organization posted to their website an entry titled "What is NaNoWriMo's position on Artificial Intelligence (AI)?", in which they deemed the use of AI to be acceptable and stated "the categorical condemnation of Artificial Intelligence has classist and ableist undertones." This stance generated controversy in the online community, with many on social media stating they were withdrawing support of or participation in the NaNoWriMo event. NaNoWriMo also lost a sponsor, the writing collaboration platform Ellipsus, and The Mary Sue noted that FreeWrite had been removed from the sponsor page.

In response to the controversy, NaNoWriMo stated that their "commentary on ableism and classism was relevant to the bullying dynamics we were seeing across our social channels." They further clarified that the original statement posted was not a complete representation of their stance on the topic. These subsequent statements failed to allay criticism.

In 31 March 2025, director Kilby Blades published a YouTube video announcing the closure of the nonprofit, citing financial struggles and "community vitriol."

Novels must reach at least 50,000 words by the end of November in order to win. These words can either be a complete novel of 50,000 words, or the first 50,000 words of a novel to be completed later.
Planning and extensive notes are permitted, but no material written before the November 1 start date can go into the body of the novel.
Participants can use any genre, theme, or language. According to the website's FAQ, "If you believe you're writing a novel, we believe you're writing a novel too." Various forms of fiction are allowed, including fan fiction (which uses characters or settings from the published work of others), metafiction, novels in poem format, or screenplays. Even "rebelling" by writing something other than a novel is allowed, including non-fiction, video games, scripts, or academic writing, as NaNoWriMo is considered a "self-challenge"; rebels are allowed to self-validate and receive any prizes from sponsors.

Winning and prizes

To win NaNoWriMo, participants must write an average of 1,667 words per day (69 per hour, 1.2 per minute) in November to reach the goal of 50,000 words written toward a novel. Organizers of the event said that the aim was to get people to start writing, using the deadline as an incentive to get the story going and to put words to paper. There was no fee to participate in NaNoWriMo; registration was only required for novel verification.

No official prizes were awarded for length, quality, or speed, though self-awarded badges were available on the site. Anyone who reached the 50,000-word mark was declared a winner. Beginning November 20, participants could submit their novel to be automatically verified for length and receive a printable certificate, an icon they could display on the web, and inclusion on the list of winners. No precautions were taken to prevent cheating; since the reward for winning was the finished novel itself and the satisfaction of having written it, there was little incentive to cheat. Novels were verified for word count by software, and could be scrambled or otherwise encrypted before being submitted for verification, although the software does not keep any other record of text input. It was possible to win without anyone other than the author ever seeing or reading the novel. Verification ended with the website redesign in 2019. Winning was now achieved by simply entering a word count of more than 50,000 words.

In October 2007, the self-publishing company CreateSpace teamed up with NaNoWriMo to begin offering winners a single free, paperback proof copy of their manuscripts, with the option to use the proof to then sell the novel on Amazon.com. In 2011, CreateSpace offered winners five free, paperback proof copies of their manuscripts. In addition to CreateSpace, each year NaNoWriMo had a new list of sponsors that reward winners and participants with various discounts and prizes. 2015 was the last year that CreateSpace partnered with NaNoWriMo.

Controversial sponsors

In 2022, NaNoWriMo partnered with Inkitt and Manuscript Press to offer special NaNoWriMo publishing packages for winners. Inkitt users reported constantly shifting business practices and coercing new authors into unfriendly contract terms, while Manuscripts Press allegedly charged exorbitant self-publishing fees, requiring authors to offset any costs not covered in crowdfunding. Users who questioned these sponsors were initially temporarily banned from the NaNoWriMo forums. Ultimately, NaNoWriMo staff agreed to sever their partnerships with Inkitt and Manuscript Press and update their partnership practices to prioritize companies that were accessible to authors that lacked representation or legal counsel.

Community

Forums

The official forums provided a place for advice, information, criticism, support, and an opportunity for "collective procrastination". Subsequently, several staffing and policy changes were announced.

After the 2024 grooming allegations and subsequent structuring changes, in the face of continued concerns voiced by volunteers and donors, the organisation removed access from all ML volunteers. 2018 was the last year in which the event was held, as the cost to put on the event rose and the funds raised by the event decreased.

Programs

Laptop Loaners

Starting in 2002, NaNoWriMo ran a Laptop Loaner program for those without regular access to a computer or word processor. Functional used laptops were donated by NaNoWriMo participants, and borrowers were required to send a $300 deposit with proof of identity and cover the cost of return shipping.

In 2008, AlphaSmart, Inc. donated 25 Neo word processors.

In 2009 the Laptop Loaner program ended before that year's NaNoWriMo event.

Young Writers Program

In 2004, NaNoWriMo started the Young Writers Program (YWP), a writing workshop aimed to aid classrooms of kindergarten through 12th-grade students. The difference between the regular program and the YWP was that kids could choose how many words to try to write. The word count goal for a young writer can range from a few thousand words, to the adult-standard 50,000, and even higher in some cases; a typical standard was around 30,000. In its inaugural year, the program was used in 150 classrooms and involved 4000 students. Teachers registered their classroom for participation and were sent a starter kit of materials to use in the class which included reward items like stickers and pencils. Lesson plans and writing ideas were also offered as resources to teachers, while students could communicate through the program's forums. The only age restriction on the YWP was that, in most circumstances, no one could be over 18. When a user turned 18, they were sent to the main site; however, high school seniors who turned 18 during their senior year could remain in the program until graduation. YWP had their own separate forums.

The Office of Letters and Light

In September 2006, NaNoWriMo officially became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization operating under the name "The Office of Letters and Light".

Camp NaNoWriMo

A summer version of NaNoWriMo, called Camp NaNoWriMo, launched in 2011. Two sessions were held, one in July and one in August; however, the months were switched to June and August for Camp NaNoWriMo 2012. The two months were then switched to April and July for 2013 and 2014, afterwards remaining the same. The rules used for the main event in November also applied to each Camp NaNoWriMo session. each with its own message board visible only by members of that cabin. Camp NaNoWriMo participants could choose their word count goal, similar to the Young Writers Program.

The "Now What?" Months

In 2013, January and February were deemed NaNoWriMo's "Now What?" Months, designed to help novelists during the editing and revision process. To participate, writers committed to revisit their novels, signing a contract via NaNoWriMo, then attending Internet seminars where publishing experts and NaNoWriMo novelists advised writers on the next steps for their draft.

Published NaNoWriMo novels

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Since 2006, nearly 400 NaNoWriMo novels have been published via traditional publishing houses and over 200 novels have been published by smaller presses or self-published.

Some notable titles include:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, published by Dutton Juvenile
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, published by Doubleday
Wool by Hugh Howey, published by Simon & Schuster
Cinder by Marissa Meyer, published by Square Fish
The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough, published by Del Rey Books
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy, published by HarperCollins Publishers
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, published by Gollancz

Spin-off events

National Haiku Writing Month: Also known as NaHaiWriMo, held in February every year, starting in 2011
Script Frenzy: creating a script in April of every year that ran from 2007–2012
Southern Cross Novel Challenge: southern hemisphere version of event that ran in June from 2007–2013

References

External links

(2007) Three-Part, In-Depth Interview with founder Chris Baty at Writer Unboxed
(2012) Interview with Chris Baty at Terrible Minds