In the spring, the nonprofit NaNoWriMo closed due to financial problems, among other complications. Now there’s a replacement event, Novel November, for 2025. Writing software company ProWritingAid, alongside partners that include Scrivener and Kickstarter, is relaunching the event. ProWritingAid is encouraging writers to use their free tools to track word count, measure their progress towards goals, and earn badges to celebrate their achievements. They are also offering educational workshops and daily writing sprints.
Among the writer/mentor partners who have signed on to participate in the project: Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles; Tomi Adeyemi, author of Children of Blood and Bone; and Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles. They will be available throughout October and November to help writers prep for the challenge and answer questions that come up as they work on their novels. Learn more.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
