The Novel: Live! Writing Marathon Raises $10,000 for Charity

By Maryann Yin 

nllogo.JPGWhat happens when 36 authors collaboratively write a novel in six days?

The Novel: Live co-founder Garth Stein explained the writing marathon’s fundraising success this week: “We set a goal of 60,000 words in six days … and were thrilled when we ended up with 72,000 words. But more importantly, we raised over $10,000 in donations for literacy.”

Besides the sales from the novel (due for release in spring 2011), funds were raised at an online auction. One New York woman paid $450 to include a specific character name in the novel, for example. These funds will help programs like Writers in the Schools, 826 Seattle, and the Richard Hugo House. People all over the world watched the writers work live through online video. Overall, the viewers spent more than 165,000 minutes on the site’s chat room.

Stein gave this opinion about the final product: “It’s actually really good. Elizabeth George‘s penultimate chapter makes me cry. With a little editing and work, it’s going to be a very good 36-author novel.”