Chris Baty

About the Author

Chris Baty is the visionary founder of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the annual challenge that inspires hundreds of thousands of writers worldwide to complete a 50,000-word novel in just 30 days. A former journalist and writing enthusiast, Baty launched NaNoWriMo in 1999 as a playful antidote to procrastination, transforming it into a global phenomenon that celebrates the joy of unfiltered creativity over perfectionism. Drawing from his own experiences as a reluctant novelist, he offers practical wisdom on overcoming creative blocks and embracing the messy process of storytelling. Through his work, Baty empowers aspiring authors to silence their inner critics and discover the thrill of finishing a draft, proving that anyone can write a novel with the right mindset and a dash of enthusiasm.