The Muskoka Novel Marathoners have set a goal of $30,000 for their annual three-day marathon to donate to adult literacy programs in Muskoka, according to an announcement from the group on April 10.
Forty writers gather each summer for the annual writing race in support of adult literacy, some completing hundreds of pages during the marathon. Before it starts, the writers have to plan ways to raise funds, plan what to write and set a fundraising goal. The forty available seats for writers are often filled quickly, sometimes within minutes, but this year the marathon has a number of seats available for new or returning writers who want to participate. The event has raised over $202,000 in its 17 years of existence and has helped jumpstart the writing careers of many writers and published authors.
Here are 10 reasons from the marathon committee about why any aspiring author should join in:
- It’s a way to get away from the rest of your life for 72 hours devoted completely to Writing.
- It’s an opportunity to help adults who don’t know how to read to learn how—setting them free in their lives. We are powerful. We make a major difference. By asking good people around us to sponsor us, we collectively raise more than $30,000 per year.
- You’ll be meeting fellow writers and building new friendships with like-minded members of your tribe. You’ll be amazed how soon you feel at home.
- You can write about anything you want. You can take a break whenever you want. Sleeping is optional.
- You’re in a beautiful facility (part of the Canada Summit Centre in Huntsville, Ontario) in a friendly small town in gorgeous Muskoka. On your breaks, you can swim in the Muskoka River nearby, visit local taverns, shop or do touristy things.
- If you wish, you can submit your work for feedback and prestigious prizes, one of which is an inside track to an editor at a publishing house.
- There are lots of other prizes up for grabs: top fundraiser, most prolific, rookie of the year, next year’s seat guaranteed if you raise over $1,000, and many more.
- Anyone who loves to write can join and has an equal opportunity to get a seat. We’ve had published authors. We’ve had people writing a long work for the first time in their lives. We’ve had 12 and 13-year-old kids. We’ve had someone unpublished whose Novel Marathon manuscript went on to become a bestseller.
- For $100, it’s a deal. We feed you three square meals a day and you can “indoor camp” at our venue.
- It is three solid days that are all about your writing. No other demands, requirements, distractions—just total commitment to doing what you most love to do, in the company of others who feel the same way. There is no other experience like it.
For more information and to register for the marathon, visit the Muskoka Novel Marathon website.
