ANNUAL REPORT

2017-

2018NaNoWriMo

FUELING

CREATIVE

SUPERPOWERS

FUELING

CREATIVE

SUPERPOWERS

2

Our Programs and Initiatives

A Message from Our E XECUTIVE DIREC TOR

Dear Writer,

Sometimes when I encourage people to participate in NaNoWriMo, they tell me, “I’m sorry, but I’m not a creative type.”

This response is disturbing to me because to be human is to be wonderfully creative, and by not seeing yourself as a creator, you minimize your voice in the world. Our NaNoWriMo mantra is not only that everyone has a story to tell, but also that everyone’s story matters.

That’s one reason we chose superheroes as our theme for NaNoWriMo 2017. The lore of many superheroes is that they are ordinary people who don’t necessarily possess superhuman strength or speed, yet they’re transformed by new powers and go forth to save the world. NaNoWriMo spawns a similar world of superheroes: we empower people to put on their writing capes, bound into the wilds of their imaginations, overcome hordes of creativity-stifling villains—and encourage others to do likewise along the way.

Why? Because it’s amazing what injustices our stories can slay. It’s amazing how our stories can protect us from even the scariest of antagonists and lead us to new and better worlds.

Our 2018 theme is “NaNoWriMo is … ”. We asked our community to fill in that blank, and it’s interesting how many responses focused on igniting people’s superheroic creative powers:

“NaNoWriMo is the time of year when ordinary people learn the extraordinary things they are capable of.”

“NaNoWriMo is the magical place where ‘I’ve always wanted to be a writer’ becomes ‘I am a writer.’”

“NaNoWriMo is the voice whispering ‘yes you can’ in your ear for 30 days straight.”

We believe that it’s important to tell your truth. We believe that by achieving ambitious goals, you learn to believe in yourself. We believe that the best things in life are done with a community of creators. That’s our superhero recipe.

Thank you for helping to create this magical land of writers and helping “ordinary” people turn into mighty creators. When someone builds a world on the page, they’re more likely to build a better and stronger world around themselves.

With gratitude,

GRANT FAULKNERExecutive Director

ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018

NaNoWriMo

3

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH is our flagship program that guides people through the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel in the 30 days of November.

National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational

power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and

encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative

goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.

Our Programs and Initiatives

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

CAMP NANOWRIMO is a virtual writing retreat that provides the community, resources, and tools to complete any writing project—novel or not! Our Camp sessions take place in April and July.

THE YOUNG WRITERS PROGRAM (YWP) provides an online space for young people to write novels, form writing groups, and access writing resources. For K-12 educators, we provide virtual classrooms and a K-12 curriculum aligned to Common Core standards.

NANO PREP happens in September and October, and helps participants prepare to write their novels through expert guidance and pre-writing resources.

THE “NOW WHAT?” MONTHS land in January and February, when NaNoWriMo guides novelists through the editing and publishing processes—and helps them commit to a year-round creative habit. Writers also get access to publishing professionals for mentorship and advice.

COME WRITE IN connects libraries, bookstores, and other neighborhood spaces with their local NaNoWriMo volunteers and participants to build vibrant writing communities.

4

OUR 2017-2018 IMPACT

WRITING-GROUP CABINS CREATED

7,425

ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018

NaNoWriMo

COMPLETED DRAFTS IN NOVEMBER

34,214

COMPLETED CAMP PROJECTS

13,566

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH PARTICIPANTS

306,230

CAMP PARTICIPANTS

65,962

NANOWRIMO.ORG UNIQUE PAGE VIEWS IN

NOVEMBER

15,840,290

ON-THE-GROUND VOLUNTEERS

972

5

LIBRARY, BOOKSTORE, COMMUNITY SPACE

PARTICIPANTS

1,195

YWP STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS

88,277

CLASSROOMS ON THE YWP WEBSITE IN 2017

7,351

COMPLETED YWP DRAFTS IN NOVEMBER

29,785

TOTAL PARTICIPANTS IN 2017 - 2018 SEASON

460,469

FREE CLASSROOM KITS SENT TO EDUCATORS

2,500

6ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018

NaNoWriMo

Over the course of November 2017, “PEP TALK” emails inspired and encouraged participants. Our 2017 “pep talk” authors were ROXANE GAY, DEAN KOONTZ, JULIE MURPHY,

GRANT FAULKNER, and KEVIN KWAN.

As our 2017 NANO COACHES, authors K. ANCRUM, JASMINE GUILLORY, MUR LAFFERTY,

EMILY X.R. PAN, and G. S. PRENDERGAST took over NaNoWriMo’s Twitter account in November to answer participants’ questions and provide encouragement and writing tips.

HIGHLIGHTS 2017

7

Throughout the year, we kept our participants writing with our VIRTUAL WRITE-INS,

WEBINARS, TWITTER CHATS, SOCIAL MEDIA PROMPTS, and ON-THE-GROUND EVENTS.

“I’ve written four books with [NaNoWriMo] and am working on editing two of them. Maybe someday they’ll get published, but that’s not my goal. I wrote them because they were burning me up inside and begging to be written. And I was able to write them because of the help and encouragement that NaNoWriMo gave me. They’ve made me a better person. So thank you all. Thank you.”

Emily, NANOWRIMO PARTICIPANT 2017

Our first ever WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM kicked off in the fall of 2017. Funded

in part by a CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL (CAC) ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS ENGAGEMENT GRANT, this

on-the-ground program brought author ALEXANDRA BALLARD into the BAY FARM SCHOOL in

Alameda, CA to support 8th grade students as they tackled the audacious goal of writing a

novel in a month using the YOUNG WRITERS PROGRAM and our new YWP WEBSITE.

8

DONATIONS

$543,763

SPONSORSHIPS

$322,933

MERCHANDISE (NET)

$138,143

FOUNDATIONS AND GRANTS

$168,283

EVENTS

$65,864

OTHER INCOME

$68,048

TOTAL INCOME

$1,307,035

ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018

NaNoWriMo

FINANCIALS, STAFF, & BOARD

2017 BUDGET

PROGRAMS

$810,282

FUNDRAISING

$298,129

MANAGEMENT

$89,332

TOTAL EXPENSES

$1,197,743

9

STAFFGRANT FAULKNER, Executive Director

TIM KIM, NaNoWriMo Program Director

MARYA BRENNAN, Young Writers Program Director

SARAH MACKEY, Director of Community Engagement

CHRIS ANGOTTI, Chief Operating Officer

DAVE BECK, Technical Director

SHELBY GIBBS, Operations Director

HEATHER DUDLEY, Lead Forums Moderator

KATHARINE GRIPP, Communications Manager

PAIGE KNORR, Community Manager

JEZRA LICKTER, Web Developer

REBECCA STERN, Development Manager

WESLEY SUEKER, Customer Service Associate

ROB DIAZ, YWP Forums Moderator

MADELINE PORTER, Events Associate

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JULIE BARTON

BUSTER BENSON

KARIMA CAMMELL

SEAN HEWENS

SHARON MCKELLAR

PAUL OH

JUSTIN QUIMBY

JULIE RUSSELL

TONY SHEN

MICHAEL SIPPEY

JASON SNELL

CHRIS BATY (EMERITUS)

INTERNS

WRITERS BOARD

GENNIFER ALBIN

MELISSA ANELLI

SUSAN DENNARD

MIGNON FOGARTY

KAMI GARCIA

RACHAEL HERRON

HUGH HOWEY

MAUREEN JOHNSON

DARYNDA JONES

NIALL LEONARD

MARISSA MEYER

DANIEL JOSÉ OLDER

DANIELLE PAIGE

MITALI PERKINS

SCOTT WESTERFELD

EMILY EHRETNICHOLAS FIERROKRISTEN SIBBALD

10ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018

NaNoWriMo

MAJOR DONORS

$25, 000 +Amazon Literary Partnership

Amazon Web ServicesFoundation to Decrease World Suck

Lise Quintana

$10, 000 - $24,999Marissa Meyer

Melcher Charitable FoundationNational Endowment for the Arts

$5, 000 - $9,999Anthony Francis

JSY Giving, a foundation dedicated to the loving memory of Jane Yin Bolander

Melanie CraftQuote-Unquote

$2,500 - $4,999Anonymous (x3)

Daphne Ashling PurpusJennifer Jackson

Paul HawkeDarynda JonesMichael Sippey

$1 , 000 - $2,499Anonymous (x2)

Amy MarshallAnne Prather

California Arts CouncilCalum Dickinson

Cathy E. CretsingerCy Wyss

Denny AbramsJan Ellison Baszucki

Jason SnellJenny Colby

Joseph MerbothK. Kitts

Kaitlin NicholsKarl L. Krohn

Kathryn BedellMichael Chatfield

Morris Family FundPamela & Mark Wiedenback Charitable

FoundationRose Holland

Stephanie Block

$500 - $999Anonymous (x9)

Alexandra ClausenAndrew P. Anderson FundBright Funds Foundation

Damon JohnsonDana Oshiro

Denton FroeseDerya Davenport

Emily BristowGennifer Albin

Greater Houston Community Foundation (Andrew P. Anderson Fund)

Jennifer Overholt

11

John LewisJohn Reese

Linda HolderMelissa Jackson

Sarah YasinState Farm Companies

FoundationWendy Crawford

$250 - $499Anonymous (x21)

Aaron PhillipsAlan LessikAlan Rogers

Alice LawAlok BaikadiAmy RogersAnne Gibson

Bethany ChalmersBrandon Malara

Catherine CollingwoodChris and Anne Wignall

Family FoundationChris Lark

Christine KernCorinna Laughlin

Dan LatendreDaniel Russo

David WilliamsDee BeardsleyDianne Larson

Elise EichenbergElizabeth Gregg & Kris Janik

Elizabeth ShineElizabeth Staley

Ellen F. Hyndman (on behalf of Aimee Hyndman)

Emily FrenchEmily Gasca

Emma WhiteEsme WingroveFelicia Becerra

GSCOJ Rimbas

Jacquelyn VargovichJames Davis

Jamie McMahonJane Hearren

Jason GoldwaterJayne Beker

Jennifer CrispinJennifer Delozier

Jennifer ShewJessica Hillis

John ForresterJohn Reifenberg

Julia TryonKali Hinkle

Kellie BowenKellie Simpson

Kelly MeadL.J. StephensLarissa Jones

Lawrence LoganLeslie RoyerLily WeaverLissa StaleyLórien May

Mariah DonahueMarie Raven

Matthew BortonMatthew SchnurMelissa Guglich

MIa PomalesMonica Mathern

Myra DanielPreeva TramielRachelle Wood

Richenda BrewerRob and Ginny Diaz

Robert KubiakRobin Sumners

Samantha PotterSarah Hamaker

Sarah HarringtonSarah Pottenger

Sasha HurlockSerenity Jones

Shauna SchiemannStephan Benzkofer

Steven WallaceTeague Lasser

Tony ShenTonya Coats

William R. JonesYvette Keller

Thousands and thousands of people

donated in 2017. We thank you all for

your generosity. You make NaNoWriMo

possible.

Nat

iona

l Nov

el W

riti

ng M

onth

33

54

Ade

line

Str

eet

Ber

kele

y, C

A 9

470

3

NA

TIO

NA

L N

OV

EL

WR

ITIN

G M

ON

TH

20

17-2

018

AN

NU

AL

RE

PO

RT

nano

wri

mo.

org

| c

ampn

anow

rim

o.or

g |

yw

p.na

now

rim

o.or

g