Welcome Educators!
Below you will find a downloadable version of our Young Writers Program Press Kit, teacher testimonials, newspaper and magazine articles about our programs, and NaNoWriMo statistics. We created this page to help parents and educators make an informed decision about facilitating National Novel Writing Month.
YWP Press Kit
2007 Young Writers Program Press Kit
YWP Press Releases
Press Release #1: October 1, 2007
Looking for more press on the Young Writers' Program? Visit the YWP Press Clippings page.
Teacher Testimonials
“What We Learned in Battle Creek Michigan” (Middle School)
By Luke Perry
Battle Creek, MI (2007)
"A Whole Novel?!" (High School)
By Sarah Richards
Westminster, CO (2007)
Teacher Testimonial (Seventh Grade)
By Meredith Cortes (2005)
Parent Testimonial
By Mary Roper (2005)
Why NaNoWriMo is a Great Teaching Tool
By Jennifer Rae Atkins (2005)
Teacher Testimonial (Eighth Grade)
By Kaarin Greene (2005)
Teaching NaNoWriMo
By Daniel Moulthrop (2003)
Statistics
Founded: 1999 in Oakland, CA
Annual participant/winner totals for our main program:
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 2100 winners
2003: 25,500 participants and about 3500 winners
2004: 42,000 participants and just shy of 6000 winners
2005: 59,000 participants and 9769 winners
2006: 79,813 participants and 12,948 winners
2007: 101,510 participants and 15,333 winners
Annual classroom/participant totals for our Young Writers Program (note that many students participate offline and/or using pen and paper so these numbers are an approximation):
2004: 12 classrooms and 747 young writers
2005: 29 classrooms and 1,537 young writers
2006: 256 classrooms and 8,887 young writers
2007: 366 classrooms and 13,907 young writers
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 NaNoWriMo manuscripts that have been sold to big-time publishing houses: 18 and counting
Percent of NaNoWriMo's net proceeds from donations and merchandise sales that went to build libraries for children in Southeast Asia 2004-2006: 50%
Number of libraries NaNoWriMo has built through this program: Twenty-two (three in Cambodia, seven in Laos, an anticipated twelve in Vietnam, pending 2006 financials)
Number of words officially logged by participants during the 2004 event: 428,164,975
Number of words officially logged by participants during the 2005 event: 714,227,354
Number of words officially logged by participants during the 2006 event: 982,564,70
Number of words officially logged by participants during the 2007 event: 1,187,931,929
Contacts
You can contact local participants in your area to come speak at your school or library by checking out our Contact Page to see if your area has a Municipal Liaison. These goodly folks are the volunteer chapter heads for the area, and they would love to come help you talk your kids into the seemingly crazy novel-writing adventure!
If you have more questions about our program please contact us!