A nation-wide organization of writing meet-ups each year, NaNoWriMo made the difficult decision to go with virtual events only this November for National Novel Writing Month. In announcement sent out to all its followers, they said:

“Based on everything we have seen in the last month, and the unknowns that the Delta variant is contributing to an already precarious situation, we have made the decision that there will be no official in-person NaNoWriMo events again this year. “

NaNoWriMo asked that writer groups not create unsanctioned meetings labeled NaNoWriMo. “We want to make sure that our events remain as safe as possible for everyone in our community. While vaccines have reduced the risk in many regions, they are not available everywhere; they may be less effective for those who are immunocompromised; and children under 12 remain ineligible for vaccination. With the increase in breakthrough cases and the significantly more contagious Delta variant in the mix, we feel it is simply not the right moment to stop erring on the side of caution,” the letter continued.

The letter concluded: “In the meantime, please get vaccinated as soon as a vaccine is available to you if you haven’t done so already. Widespread vaccination is our best hope to bring us all back together in person in the future. If you are in a region where you’re still waiting for vaccines to be accessible for you, hang in there—we hope it’s coming soon.”