Come Write In Anywhere! Sarah Manzano on Introducing NaNoWriMo to Bulgaria

Our Come Write In program has partnered with bookstores and libraries around the world for four years. This November, for the first time, we welcomed community spaces of all kinds to become novel-writing havens.  Development Intern Steven Genise spoke  with Sarah Manzano, a member of the European Volunteer Service, who traveled from Spain to Bulgaria, and brought NaNoWriMo with her.

So you are originally from Spain, but are now living in Sofia, Bulgaria. What took you all the way across Europe?

I’m doing an EVS (European Voluntary Service) at the Sofia City Library, the biggest public library in the capital of Bulgaria. I’m going to stay here for six months. Part of my work consists of helping with the normal running of the library day to day. But (this is the important point), every volunteer has a Personal Project, and mine was to convert the library into the first Come Write In location in Bulgaria, teach about creative writing in general, and spread the love of NaNoWriMo. 

How popular is NaNo in Spain? How many times have you participated in the past?

For me, this would be my tenth year (yes, wow), but I have to confess that so many years I haven’t successfully finished because I had a lot of work to do. I’ve won two times, and I sometimes participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, too.  

In the big cities, like Madrid or Barcelona, there are groups of people who meet to write together during NaNoWriMo. I live in a small town in the south of Spain, and we don’t have a space for Come Write In, but who knows? Maybe next year we’ll have one…

Having been a longtime Wrimo, most of your Novembers have been spent in Spain.  What was it like doing NaNo in another country? 

This November was a difficult month for me. Not only because I am in another country, but because November was my last month in Bulgaria and I had a lot work to do before coming back home.

I really don’t think it matters what country you are writing in though; NaNoWriMo is more a state of mind. Although I always do NaNo at home in Spain, the best way of communication (for the inevitable cries of desperation) is the internet.  It’s always good to keep in touch with other people who are doing NaNo by chat, email, Twitter, or the website. These people can understand you, and, during November, this is the most important. 

Bulgaria has never had a CWI before. Do you suspect you’ll be hailed as a hero for introducing the country to NaNo? When they build a statue of you in the center of the library, would you prefer marble or bronze?

For me, the most important thing was to attract people to the library! Nowadays, libraries are not very popular places, so with this project I want to show that they are fun places, a place not only to pick up a book and go, but a place to stay and enjoy.

NaNoWriMo offers a lot of fun, and a great way to meet other people who are interested in the same things as you!

In any case, I prefer marble: it is more resistant over time.

Sarah Manzano is a member of the European Volunteer Service, traveler of all of Europe, and soon to be model for a marble statue in front of a Bulgarian library. She keeps two blogs, one in English and one in Spanish , where you can find more about her EVS project and Write In program!