Each year NaNoWriMo rolls around. Each year, it brings together writers from all over the globe. Each year, it pushes writers of all ages and backgrounds to write and to finally tell their stories. But next year... it won't. Because the organization is shutting down.

And it is going to have a much bigger impact on the world than we think. It's going to impact countless people - students, teachers, young writers, old writers, writers who never called themselves writers until NaNoWriMo dared them to write, dream, and tell their story. For over two decades, NaNoWriMo has empowered people. It has led them to believe that their stories matter. It's built confidence, courage, and friendships. It's changed lives.

If NaNoWriMo shuts down, we're not just losing a word-count tracker. We're losing something that has been a staple in the writing community for two decades. We're losing something that brought writers together. We lose the spark that helped writers take risks in their writing - the spark that let them know that they are not alone and that it's okay to make mistakes in writing. Because for once, writers could write, with other writers, with only one, common goal. Write 50 thousand words in November. If NaNoWriMo shuts down, then we lose that unique motivation to finish our novel.

This is our last chance to speak. The site is about to shut down. The team will soon be gone. But the community is still here. Still writing. Still burning with stories yet to be told. If we don't speak up now, we could lose a huge staple in the writing community. So sign this petition. Share it.

Stories and writers deserve a space, where they can just come together and be creative. And we deserve to fight for it.

And I know NaNoWriMo has had it's problems and controversies. And I do not support any of that, and I agree that those who worked at the organization did not do their job to manage any of the problems properly. But I don't believe the challenge itself to disappear. With a few changes and with someone appropriate in charge, NaNoWriMo could continue.

And we don't have to bring back the organization. Because I know that is a long shot. But we can at least keep the spirit of the challenge alive. Not the controversies or anything like that. But what NaNoWriMo itself meant in the beginning - write. And if we can keep even just the spirit of this alive, then that's alright with me.

Note: Any donations made to this petition goes to the change.org website for hosting this petition and not to the exact petition itself. Just something to tell you. If you would like to support change.org then go ahead! :) But just note that any donations made here do NOT go to the petition and you do not have to pay to sign this.