Contact
We are happy to answer any questions about NaNoWriMo or the Young Writers Program:
- General Contact Form
- Chris Angotti, YWP Director
- Office Phone: (510) 628-0327
History and Statistics
NaNoWriMo was founded by freelance writer Chris Baty, along with 20 friends, in 1999.
NaNoWriMo is run by The Office of Letters and Light, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Berkeley, CA.
The Young Writers Program was founded in 2005, in response to the countless teachers who wrote in wanting to bring noveling to the classroom.
The Young Writers Program provides free Common Core-adapted curricula and student workbooks for all grade levels, as well as classroom kits to all educators teaching the program. Kids and teens also participate independently through our motivational, community-based website.
In 2011, the Young Writers Program counted:
- 1,800 participating classrooms
- 50,000 registered writers and educators
- 81,000 total reach (comprising classroom participants + independent users)
In 2012, NaNoWriMo and the Young Writers Program expect to welcome over 300,000 authors writing novels in November.
Read more at NaNoWriMo's extensive History page.
Press Release
Download NaNoWriMo YWP's 2012 press release.
Please contact us for a high-res logo or photos.
Selected Press Clips
New York Times
My English teacher opened a door for me to express my passion for writing this past year in a way that might not have been possible if we focused only on the year-end tests. (July 2012)
San Jose Mercury News
If they could write the book, sixth-graders would populate the world with knights, talking dogs, ninjas and children embarking on quests to save their families – or the world. So get ready. (November 2011)
Education Week
Kids who love to write enjoy the challenge of it, while kids who are reluctant to write discover that they can write more than they ever thought possible. At the end of every year, my students list NaNoWriMo as one of the best things we do in class. (October 2011)
National Writing Project
But how does novel writing fit into a school day? The Young Writers Program provides teachers with a curriculum—aligned with the Common Core State Standards for writing—that includes grade-appropriate creative writing lesson plans, tips, worksheets, and activities. (May 2011)
The Millions
Meanwhile, fuelled by secret supplies of leftover Halloween candy, the kids were sneaking up on denouements and endings. At lunchtime, a knot of refugees from the cafeteria retreated to an empty classroom ... to discuss their books before cramming last cookies into their mouths and returning to imaginary lands. (November 2010)
Chicago Tribune
“My biggest hope for my students is that they emerge from the experience with a sense that they've accomplished something huge, which they will have, and that this will enlarge their sense of what is possible for them.” (November 2010)
School Library Journal
Students stay focused on helping one another persevere, and the contest becomes a social experience. "We had a little community. When one person finished, it made us all want to finish, too." (September 2009)
Edutopia
Initially, 12 kids were going to participate. Then the word spread, other teachers liked the concept, the principal gave permission to set aside the regular curriculum temporarily, and 115 kids wrote novels. (February 2009)
Read more at NaNoWriMo's Media page.
