Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short?

Now in its 12th year, this annual event challenges aspiring writers, closet novelists, and literary hobbyists all around the world to write 50,000 words in only 30 days.  Those who complete this daunting task can submit their work through the NaNoWriMo web site before midnight on November 30th and receive a digital certificate celebrating their achievement.  Some participants have even gone on to publish their works professionally: Sara Gruen’s #1 New York Times Bestseller Water For Elephants began life as a NaNoWriMo novel.

"This sounds great, how do I get started?"  Sign up at www.nanowrimo.org and get writing!  This year, The New York Public Library is hosting many NaNoWriMo Write-Ins all over New York City, where you can meet up with other writers, brainstorm, or even commiserate if you’re stuck.  And if you don’t have your own computer, simply check out a library laptop and hop on our wireless network at any NYPL location.

Below you will find information on all of the NaNoWriMo 2010 Write-Ins at NYPL:

To give you an idea of how big this event is, in 2009, there were over 165,000 participants worldwide.  New York City was ranked as the 5th "wordiest region" behind: 1) Seattle, 2) Maryland, 3) Los Angeles, 4) Germany/Austria.  You can help us make NYC #1 this year!