Meet Our New NaNo Interns: Josie and Lena!

We feel super lucky here at NaNo HQ to be able to work with some excellent interns! Today, meet our newest cohort of interns: Josie and Lena. You’ll be getting to know them better throughout November, but today they’re here to tell you a little about themselves:

Josie, Editorial & Programs Intern:

I discovered NaNoWriMo at an important time in my life. I was in sixth grade and was known by my teachers as a lover of books, writing, and art. I never thought about combining those interests in a serious way, outside of the silly little comics I would produce.

And then I discovered there was a month-long challenge to write a novel. Anyone could do it, even if I was just a spunky twelve year old! I instantly signed up and dove right into the challenge. I don’t really remember what I wrote that year, since that word document was lost to the depths of time. I know it didn’t make any sense. I also know I didn’t even win that year. But I had fun writing way past my bedtime. I had fun drawing my characters and planning out wild shenanigans for them to get involved in. This experience with NaNoWriMo was something that would happen year after year and I enjoyed sharing that time with other young writers. 

Now, I’m an adult. I never lost my love for books, loving them so much I ended up getting a degree in analyzing them. I never stopped drawing either.

It would be a lie to say I stopped writing. I wrote plenty and I have many essays and scripts to prove that. It’s just been a while since I wrote 100% for myself, outside of a graded assignment. I started to miss that feeling of being surrounded by other writers and getting lost in the world I created. I was reminded of those Novembers long past and found myself thinking, “Hey, remember NaNoWriMo? When was the last time you did that?”

Then I saw there was a NaNoWriMo internship opening for this fall, and well, here I am, your new Editorial and Programs intern!  I’ll be writing alongside each and every one of you. It’s a daunting task and I have a lot to learn, but I know this journey will be an enjoyable one.

Lena, Marketing & Fund Development Intern:

Hello all!

As someone whose been following NaNoWriMo since the age of thirteen, now that I’m starting 21 as the first Marketing & Fundraising Intern, I’ve been nothing but excited to be on this journey. I’ve been in love with stories since I was small, reading, writing, daydreaming to procrastinate my writing, all the things.

My mother is Yaqui, Indigenous to a tribe from Sonora, Mexico, that later fled to the United States. In my journey to accessibility, education, and action, I’m hoping to tell stories of my family’s history and of the future of our world. It doesn’t hurt if there are magic and dragons involved though, right?

My go-to stories are fairytale and mythology retellings and re-imaginings, predominantly in the fantasy genre. Give me Legendborn, Percy Jackson, or Cinderella is Dead any day!

In lieu of my college career, I’ve become a full-time caregiver for a loved one. Being a part of a team that is so incredibly accommodating to that in my dream organization and being able to interact at community events has been the greatest blessing. I’m so excited to further engage with all of you this November!