Scandal-hit creative writing website NaNoWriMo to close after 20 years

Each year, tens of thousands signed up to the flagship programme. Photograph: lechatnoir/Getty Images

NaNoWriMo, the US-based nonprofit organisation that challenged people to write a novel in a month, has announced it is closing down after 20 years.

NaNoWriMo – an abbreviation of National Novel Writing Month – fostered an online community of participants aiming to write 50,000 words of fiction in November. It began informally in 1999 before becoming a nonprofit in 2006. Each year, tens of thousands signed up to the organisation’s flagship programme.