Latest news with #Women'sPrizeforNon-Fiction2025
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NaNoWriMo closes: How scandals rocked a novel writing community
This week, NaNoWriMo announced that it was officially shutting down. National Novel Writing Month, shortened to 'NaNoWriMo', was a US non-profit organisation that encouraged people to try and write a 50,000-word novel every November. NaNoWriMo director Kilby Blades announced the closure of the company via a 27-minute YouTube video posted yesterday. She explained that it was the result of financial issues with the company and the various reputation-damaging controversies. Related French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal given five year prison sentence Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 2025: Neneh Cherry, Yuan Yang, and Rachel Clarke in shortlist Started in 1999 with just 21 participants, NaNoWriMo grew in popularity as people tried to collectively keep up with its daily word-count writing goals. In 2006 it became a non-profit company and for its 2022 edition, 413,295 participated. Based around using the dreary weather of November as an excuse for wannabe writers to sit down and finally pen their novel, NaNoWriMo has participants write an average of 1,667 words a day. It didn't need to be high-quality writing, you just had to meet the word count. If you did, by the end of November you'd have a 50,000-word draft in your hands. Then, hopefully you'd also have the mettle to turn that into something more polished. As the community grew, so did the organisation's goals. NaNoWriMo created a young writers programme, an in-person writing camp, and paperback copies of finished scripts. It even boasted the genesis of some successful novels such as Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants". But alongside the successes, trouble also brewed. A huge number of its users dropped the organisation in 2023 when it faced scandal as multiple users complained NaNoWriMo hadn't acted to remove a moderator accused of grooming children on another site. This wasn't helped by many writers already choosing to shun the organisation over their recent stance on AI, claiming it could be a helpful tool in creative writing. Defending their pro-AI stance, NaNoWriMo argued that 'not all brains have same abilities', an argument many found ableist and patronising. Due to these scandals, it became increasingly difficult to run the finances of the non-profit. "We recognize that the closure of NaNoWriMo represents a huge loss to the writing community, and that grief over this outcome will be exacerbated by the challenges of the past sixteen months,' Blades explained. 'This is not the ending that anybody wanted or planned. And – believe us – if we could hit the delete button and rewrite this last chapter, we would. But we do have hope for the epilogue.' Although this is the formal end of NaNoWriMo, its goal of getting people to use November as a chance to write is still available for anyone who wants to give it a try.
The Independent
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Women's Prize for Non-Fiction shortlist 2025: ‘Unforgettable' writers shed light on human condition
The shortlist for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 2025 has been announced. Launched last year as a sister award to the Women's Prize for Fiction (now in its 30th year), the accolade seeks to 'amplify female voices, whilst celebrating books that inform, challenge, disrupt, and offer solace and connection'. This year's finalists include six writers who challenge power and champion the resilience of the human spirit. Featured on the list are works that celebrate the natural world as well as in-depth explorations of complex subjects. Half of this year's authors are shortlisted for their first books. Hailing from a diverse range of professional backgrounds, this year's candidates include music icon Neneh Cherry, newly elected MP Yuan Yang (also the UK's first ever British Chinese representative), a marine biologist and broadcaster, a foreign policy expert, a palliative care doctor, and a historian. 'It's an absolute pleasure to announce six books on our 2025 shortlist from across genres, that are united by an unforgettable voice, rigour, and unique insight,' said Kavita Puri, chair of judges. 'Included in our list are narratives that honour the natural world and its bond with humanity, meticulously researched stories of women challenging power, and books that illuminate complex subjects with authority, nuance and originality.' Last year's Prize was won by Naomi Klein for her book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, which investigated the world of 'conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers and demagogue hucksters'. This year's winner will be awarded in an evening ceremony held on 12 June in Central London, where the winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction will also be announced. Each will be awarded a prize of £30,000. See the full shortlist below. A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry Swedish singer-songwriter Cherry first shot to fame for her song 'Buffalo Stance' in 1988, making a name for herself through innovative genre-mixing. The Brit Award-winning musician has collaborated with artists including Cher and the Damon Albarn-fronted band Gorillaz. In this memoir, she weaves the threads of her life into a unique tale, exploring themes of family, belonging, and music throughout. The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke Nine-year-old Keira suffered catastrophic injuries that caused her brain and body to shut down, but her heart kept beating. Her parents agreed she would have wanted to be an organ donor and followed the procedure to enable it to happen, donating her heart to fellow nine-year-old Max. Following the organ's journey, Dr Clarke, a palliative care doctor, tracks the medical advancements that made the young boy's miraculous discovery from a deadly virus possible. Her previous work, Breathtaking, was shortlisted for numerous awards and adapted into an acclaimed ITV series. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton Political adviser Dalton returns to the countryside of her childhood where she finds a small leveret the size of her palm, and gently nurses it back to health. The story of their connection sheds light on the relationship between human and animal, invoking a sense of awe towards the natural world. The work has received critical acclaim and was selected as the Hay Festival Book of the Year 2024. It was also shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and a Critics Best Pick for The Times, Guardian and Financial Times. Agent ZO: The Untold Stories of Courageous WW2 Resistance Fighter Elżbieta Zawacka by Clare Mulley Elżbieta Zawacka's story is told in captivating detail by historian Clare Mulley – and it is a truly gripping one. Zawacka is the only woman to reach London from Warsaw, after which she was trained in the English countryside and sent back behind enemy lines into Nazi-occupied Poland. Taking a leading role in the Warsaw uprising, her story unpacks the agency of women during World War II. What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World's Ocean by Helen Scales From the prehistoric underworld of the sea to the modern day, marine biologist Scales shows how the ocean's memory and history holds lessons for its present and future. Animals, seagrass meadows, coral reefs and giant forests all possess valuable information. Unpacking the threats to marine life, as well as shedding light on innovative ideas for protecting coastlines and cleaning toxic seas, the author takes us on a journey of remembering, uncovering, and imagining. Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China by Yuan Yang Four tenacious women refuse to submit to society's expectations in modern-day China, in Yang's journey through a rapidly changing nation. The MP is the UK's first Chinese-born representative, uniquely placed to share the stories of those caught in the fray of political and social upheaval. The book is the real story of women who are pushing for a life defined by themselves, motivated by ambition, desire, and imagination.
