“So long and thanks for all the fish” is one of the most famous quotations from my childhood. It is, of course, the title of the fourth book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series—and the last line spoken by the dolphins as they exit Earth before its destruction. Whatever Adams’s intention, it is a phrase I have always associated with wistful goodbyes.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
It’s the only phrase that really came to mind when I read the news this week that NaNoWriMo is closing down. The nonprofit organization behind the popular writing challenge began in 2006, more than half a decade after writers started getting together under the banner.
In many ways, NaNoWriMo feels like another free-to-enter community event that has grown massively, built communities, and inspired hundreds of thousands to take up something wonderful: Parkrun. And just like Parkrun, with that size of community comes the inevitable difficulty in dispute management that leads to factions and fractures.
Site to Remain Online—for Now
The site remains open for people to claim their content and will do so for as long as possible, it seems, but finances do not permit it to carry on running the annual 50,000-word, month-long writing sprint or its surrounding community and events.
Safeguarding and AI Controversy
But it’s not just finances that have led to Nano’s downfall. There has been a major scandal around safeguarding—specifically, its handling of allegations made against one of its moderators. And last year, it was embroiled in a furore after it issued a statement that refused to condemn or condone the use of AI and called out AI critics as ableist, a stance that incurred considerable ire from many in the community.
Over the years, some high-profile books have started life with Nano, including Erin Morgenstern’s blockbusting The Night Circus and self-publishing poster child Wool by Hugh Howey.
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