Wow! We now have Municipal Liaisons for the Bay Area, Boston (but still looking for a co-ML), Springfield, Massachusetts, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Washington DC, Detroit Rock City, Marquette, Michigan, Canberra and Melbourne, Australia, Christchurch, New Zealand, Rotterdam, Holland, and Hsinchu, Taiwan.

We'll be posting their contact info on the new site, launching October 1. See below for more info on ML's.

September 24, 2002

I got an email from a participant today asking the very good question: When I donate money to NaNoWriMo, where does it go?

I have posted a long-winded reply on the donations page that I hope makes things a little more clear.

Also, much gratitude to Bay Area volunteers Heather, Matt, Lauren, Cindy, Yvonne, Dustin, Tim, Pip, Brian, and Brent for coming by and giving their two cents about planning. We're hoping to make frequent writing events transpire in the East Bay, South Bay, and San Francisco in November. If you have any leads on places that are open late and would welcome a lot of people with laptops, please holler.

September 23, 2002

Hey everyone!

NaNoWriMo.org site-building is continuing apace. I've been dividing our soon-to-be-launched, ultra-sleek and mighty message board into cool little lounges and discussion areas. It's just like being an architect, but without all those cumbersome accreditation issues.

Hopefully some of you have been planning kick-off parties for your town for October. The Bay Area's NaNoWriMo kick-off party and fundraiser will take place October 26, from 8 pm to 2 am, at the 21 Grand Gallery in downtown Oakland. Expect music and mingling and, once we become sufficiently inebriated, wild dance moves from some of your favorite NaNoWriMo staff. Even if you are shy, and don't know anyone else, you should plan on attending. For real. The dance moves will be that good.

If you do already have an event planned for your city and would like to get the word out, wait until October 1 and post it on your town's subsection of the delightful new message board.

Thanks to those who have donated so far! You guys rock! And you over there! Be like your good-hearted friends! We're asking all participants for a suggested donation of $10 to go towards expenses this year (and, if we have money left over, towards post-November events and a site facelift in 2003). Avoid the long lines at the donation box in October by donating now! Our (vastly under market rate yet still sizable) programming bills are coming due, and we could really use the help.

And finally: We are looking for one to two motivated people in every city to serve as NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaisons. These would be people who have done NaNoWriMo in the past who are interested in organizing NaNo writing and social events in their town. You would also handle press requests for local interviews, putting journalists in touch with participants in your area.

The position would be unpaid, unless you count bringing joy into the hearts of millions as a salary. In which case you will be the richest person in the whole wide world. Seriously.

We already have a few Municipal Liaisons lined up (see the top of the page for specifics). The rest of the world, however, is open. Drop a line to chris@nanowrimo.org (note the stylin' new .org suffix) with the name of your town and "Municipal Liaison" in the subject line, and a brief summation of your previous NaNo experience.

That's about it for now. Registration begins on October 1. Writing starts November 1. Hope you all are well and have begun the stockpiling of treats and caffeine.

Warm wishes for a chilly autumn,

Chris
National Novel Writing Month