National Novel Writing Month is back!

Novel fever takes the world by storm.

Symptoms include flashes of brilliance, questionable plotlines, and blatant use of mixed metaphors.

Berkeley, California (Oct 10, 2011) - At midnight on November 1, armed only with their wits, the vague outline of a story, and a ridiculous deadline, more than 250,000 people around the world will set out to become novelists.

Why? Because November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, the world’s largest writing challenge and nonprofit literary crusade. Participants pledge to write 50,000 words in a month, starting from scratch and reaching “The End” by November 30. There are no judges, no prizes, and entries are deleted from the server before anyone even reads them.

So what’s the point? “The 50,000-word challenge has a wonderful way of opening up your imagination and

unleashing creativity,” says NaNoWriMo Founder and Executive Director (and 12-time NaNoWriMo winner) Chris Baty. “When you write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both. Also, it’s a great excuse for not doing any dishes for a month.”

More than 650 regional volunteers in more than 60 countries will hold write-ins, hosting writers in coffee

shops, bookstores, and libraries. Write-ins offer a supportive environment and surprisingly effective peer

pressure, turning the usually solitary act of writing into a community experience. That sense of community even extends beyond the page—so much so that several dozen marriages and at least six babies have resulted from NaNoWriMo over the years.

In a few years, those babies will surely take part in NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program, a version of the event geared toward kids and teens. These budding authors also benefit from a community of their peers, as well as the free resources (including lesson plans, workbooks, and a snazzy classroom kit) used by thousands of educators worldwide.

Although the event emphasizes creativity and adventure over creating a literary masterpiece, more than 90

novels begun during NaNoWriMo have since been published, including Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, both #1 New York Times Best Sellers.

“Writing a novel in a month inspires incredible confidence in seasoned and first-time novelists alike,” says

NaNoWriMo Program Director Lindsey Grant. “Completing a draft of the novel they’ve been contemplating for ages gives participants a tremendous sense of accomplishment and leaves them wondering what else they’re capable of.”

For more information on National Novel Writing Month, or to speak to NaNoWriMo participants in your area, visit www.nanowrimo.org or contact press@nanowrimo.org.

The Office of Letters and Light is a California-based international non-profit organization. Its programs are the largest literary events in the world. Learn more at www.lettersandlight.org

Founded by: Freelance writer Chris Baty and 20 other overcaffeinated yahoos in 1999.

Now run by: The Office of Letters and Light, an august 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oakland.

How NaNoWriMo got from there to here: It’s a funny story, actually.

Annual participant/winner totals 1999: 21 participants and six winners

2000: 140 participants and 29 winners

2001: 5000 participants and more than 700 winners

2002: 13,500 participants and around 2,100 winners

2003: 25,500 participants and about 3,500 winners

2004: 42,000 participants and just shy of 6,000 winners

2005: 59,000 participants and 9,769 winners

2006: 79,813 participants and 12,948 winners

2007: 101,510 participants and 15,333 winners

2008: 119,301participants and 21,683 winners

2009: 167,150 participants and 32,178 winners

2010: 200,500 participants and 37, 500 winners

Number of official NaNoWriMo chapters around the world: Over 500

Number of K-12 schools who participated in 2005: Over 100

Number of K-12 schools who participated in 2006: Over 300

Number of K-12 schools who participated in 2007: 366

Number of K-12 schools who participated in 2008: 600

Number of K-12 schools who participated in 2009: 1,295

Number of K-12 schools who participated in 2010: 1,800

Number of NaNoWriMo manuscripts that have been sold to publishing houses: Many (details below)

Number of words officially logged during the 2004 event: 428,164,975

Number of words officially logged during the 2005 event: 714,227,354

Number of words officially logged during the 2006 event: 982,564,701

Number of words officially logged during the 2007 event: 1,187,931,929

Number of words officially logged during the 2008 event: 1,643,343,993

Number of words officially logged during the 2009 event: 2,427,190,537

Number of words officially logged during the 2010 event: 2,872,682,109