2008 Write-a-thon Fundraiser

The Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon was a huge success! Thanks so much to everyone who came!

Need a mid-November extravaganza of food, drink, and lots and lots of noveling? Behind on your word count? Looking for a great excuse to come out to San Francisco? Well, we've got an event for you: the second-annual NaNoWriMo Night of Writing Dangerously.

We stole this idea from the fantastic New York Writers Coalition last year and raised over $11,000 for NaNoWriMo and our Young Writers Program. You can see some video from last year's event on our blog and more photos in our Flickr pool.

Here's how it works:

1. You raise $200 in sponsorships from family and/or friends by November 10. You can do this via your fun, personal Write-a-thon sponsorship page waiting for you at www.firstgiving.com/lettersandlight. (This is what NaNoWriMo Director Chris Baty's Write-a-thon 2008 profile looks like.)
2. As soon as you've raised at least $200, send an RSVP with a link to your Firstgiving page to Tavia.
3. If you raise $300 or more you can bring a guest too! Just RSVP with a "plus one" to Tavia. The ballroom we've rented at the SomArts Center can only seat 200 folks, so we have to keep attendance down to the first 200 people who RSVP.
4. Come to the event, which will be held from 6 PM to 11 PM on November 15, 2008. Eat great food. Drink great drinks. Take part in writing challenges and sprints with fellow participants and the NaNoWriMo staff, or just plug in the headphones and lose yourself in noveling abandon for five delicious hours.

The top four fundraisers will walk home with one of our Grand Prizes:

• LiveJournal Grand Prize Laptop - a ruby red Dell Studio 15
• An AlphaSmart Neo, provided by Renaissance Learning
• A 32 GB iPod Touch, provided by Storyist Software
• One round-trip ticket anywhere JetBlue flies
• One year's worth of books from Better World Books

Everyone who comes to the Write-a-thon will receive:

• A Night of Writing Dangerously tote bag
• Storyist writing software
• First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Weisner
• How Not To Write A Novel by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman
• Writing Open the Mind by Andy Couturier
• A $50 coupon towards a dinner cruise in the San Francisco Bay from Hornblower Cruises
• A lively talk by NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty on ten years of NaNo craziness
• Dinner provided by A.G. Ferrari
• Drinks provided by Vitamin Water, Mighty Leaf Tea, and Peet's Coffee
• Buckets of sweets from Cybele May's famous Candy Buffet and cookies provided by Otis Spunkmeyer
• Snacks provided by Rainbow Grocery, Acme Bread, and Clif Bar & Company
• Fruit provided by the Fruit Guys
• An on-site author photo by photographer Ken Goudy

And everyone will have a chance to take home a multitude of prizes, including:

A baseball signed by Young Adult Authors Judy Blume, Christopher Paolini, Louis Sachar, Marc Brown, Judy Sierra, Polly Horvath, Kate Klimo, and Marjorie Priceman.

Two vouchers for creative writing seminars at 826 Valencia

Two passes to the SF MOMA

Family four pack of passes to the Children's Discovery Museum

Day pass for two and buy one night get one night free at Vichy Springs Resort in Ukiah

Gift certificate for camping and day visits to Harbin Springs

$30 gift certificate to Mrs. Dalloway's bookstore

Eleven yoga classes from Yoga Tree

Massage gift certificate from the National Holistic Institute

Two admissions, two ride passes, and two parking passes for the San Francisco Zoo

Pajamas from the Cat's Pajamas

Two passes to the Exploratorium

One Voucher for an art class at Root Division

$25 worth of gift certificates to Blue Bottle Coffee

$30 gift certificate to Café Madrid in Oakland

Two bottles of wine from Lost Canyon Winery

Two tickets to see a play at Shotgun Players in Berkeley

One pair of tickets to a performance in the 2008-2009 Cal Performance season

Six passes to the historic Grand Lake Theater

15 bags of deliciously strong Atlas Coffee

One free book from DailyLit

An autographed picture of San Francisco Giants Outfielder, Fred Lewis

A mix of MacWorld books, including Total Leopard, Mac OS X Hints, Digital Music, and Video Superguide and an iPod nano.

A Poets & Writers tote bag including a one-year subscription to the magazine
Write-a-thon FAQ:

What time is the event?

The event will begin at 6 PM and end at 11 PM.

When will dinner be served?

Casual buffet-style food will be served at 7 PM.

What is the venue's address?

SomArts is located at:

934 Brannan St.
San Francisco, CA, 94103

Where can I get directions to the event and where can I park once I'm there?

You can type in your address here to get directions. SomArts' does not offer parking, but there is street parking nearby and a pay parking lot across the street.

I would like to carpool. How can I let people know and organize a carpooling schedule with them?

If there isn't one already, create a post in your regional forum about it to coordinate carpool schedules with other local Wrimos.

Does the event have an age restriction?

No, the Write-a-thon is open to all ages.

I've raised my $200, how do I RSVP?

Contact Tavia with a link to your Firstgiving page and let her know you'd like a spot.

I've already donated $200 directly to NaNoWriMo this year. Do I need to raise an additional $200 through Firstgiving in order to attend the Write-a-thon?

Yes. This year, donating through the NaNoWriMo website is separate from raising funds to attend the Write-a-thon. If you donate through our site, you will receive some awesome donor goodies. To come to the Write-a-thon you must raise money through Firstgiving specifically for the Write-a-thon.

Will I get the donor goodies, including my halo, offered through the store for my donation level in addition to a spot in the Write-a-thon?

The Write-a-thon comes with its own set of special goodies (see above), and you will receive those instead of the NaNoWriMo thank-you gifts you would normally receive for a donation at that level. You will get a halo, however, which will come in December.

How many tickets do we get for the prize drawings?

You automatically get 4 tickets upon entering, and will receive an additional ticket for every $50 raised above your initial $200.

If I leave early, and my name gets drawn for a prize in the raffle, will I still get my prize?

Yes.

Will people be talking loudly at the event?

Possibly, and there will be upbeat music as well, played at a low volume. Bring headphones or earplugs to help concentrate on writing dangerously.

Café Madrid	Ken Goudey	Chouinard Vineyards
Grand Lake Theater

National Novel Writing Month is a project of the Office of Letters and Light, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations to National Novel Writing Month are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

The photos at the top of this page were taken by Steve Shepard of Storyist Software