An Update: January’s Readathon

Hello and happy fall, readathoners!

dog-reading
Your founder and co-host Rachel here with an update for January’s scheduled readathon.

I started #24in48 in 2011 as a small (literally I think there was a dozen of us) online reading weekend.  As you know if you’ve been participating in #24in48 for the last year or so, the biannual event has grown significantly every January and July and the growth has been exponential, particularly over the last three readathon weekends. This past July we topped 3,000 participants. Kristen, Kerry, and I are so thrilled that so many of you join us year after year and pull your friends and family and fellow readers into this amazing community. And as that community grows, the more demanding and logistically complicated the readathon gets, particularly if we want to continue to serve you as readers and participants the best we can.

Kristen and Kerry joined me to help manage and host, which helped us continue to grow and evolve. We’ve been experimenting with ways to make participating more fun and engaging AND with making it easier for us to continue to put on this event twice a year. Unfortunately, our lives have also gotten more complicated and our ability to run the readathon the way we want (and the way you deserve) is no longer possible.

What this means for now is that we’re going to be canceling the Jan. 18-19, 2020 readathon. (I know, sad faces all around).

The three of us will reconvene in the spring to determine if we’ll be moving forward with future readathons, and if so, what form those will take. Stayed tuned and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or subscribe to posts here to be notified when we make an announcement.

We have loved hosting the ‘thon for you guys and we thank all of you (and especially our publishing partners) for your support.

t hanks

Happy reading,

Rachel (and Kristen and Kerry)

12 thoughts on “An Update: January’s Readathon

  1. Brandy says:

    I’m so sorry to hear this, but I understand.

    I refuse to cancel my end of the read a thon though. I’m still going to take the weekend off from responsibilities, gather my snacks, and read all weekend. At the end I may even draw my own name out of a hat and treat myself to a bookish gift.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Meghan / bookreadera says:

    I understand the need to step back, it really has grown exponentially the past few years. I wasn’t there for the start, but I remember there being only a few hundred participants.

    The January ‘thon usually falls on the weekend before my birthday and over the years participating has become my gift to myself. I’ll still be there. It will just be a #not24in48 ; )

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’m with everyone else. Completely understand, but not giving up on you & the wonderful gift you’ve given me to allow myself to indulge in my favorite hobby & take a weekend to myself. Your readathons have turned into precious quality time with my children too, because over the years they have chosen to join me & the memories of quiet weekends, fun choosing snacks, having mini-competitions to see who can read the longest, are precious to me. I will also wholeheartedly participate in #not24in48!! Thank you all, for everything, & take care. ❤️❤️❤️

      Like

  3. I’m in awe at everything you have done and I totally understand and respect your situation. Running a readathon should be minimally stressing and mostly relaxing so that you can enjoy it yourself too!
    Would ditching all prizes and rewards once a year help? I feel like prizes must be stressful to coordinate, before, after and during the thon. Most other big readathons only have reading challenges and everyone seems to be okay with that 😊 then you could only do the hourly challenges with no prizes? Maybe you could get more hosts as well, visiting book bloggers and the like?
    This is just to voice some ideas, hope you don’t mind!

    Like

  4. Brenda Hardin says:

    I have only participated for a couple of years. I have really looked forward to taking off work and snuggling in with snacks and a few good books. I too will still take the time off and treat myself to a weekend of bliss and turn off the world for a few days. It’s never been about the prizes, but being able to connect with other readers as we try to achieve the same goal. Looking forward to hopefully, seeing you in July.

    Like

  5. sward7gmailcom says:

    I just discovered #24in48 this year and, like many posters above, view this as a gift to myself. How about just keeping it super simple? Create a FB page and let’s just all read? We can post pics of our timers and our books. No prizes. Let the read-a-thoners run with it and keep each other motivated.

    Regardless, you guys ran such an organized read-a-thon in June! I was so impressed. And genuinely appreciate all the work and time all if you put into it.

    Like

  6. Brad says:

    Thank you all for hosting this wonderful event the last few years. It’s always good to take a step back and take care of yourselves! My wife and I are going to readathon anyway because it’s fun and reading is something we both love.

    Like

  7. Louisa Valenzuela says:

    Too bad I was looking forward to my first readathon. I realize it is hard to get people together. Complicated. Like a family reunion, ha ha! Thanks for all your effort . Hasta luego. 🙋🏽‍♀️Louisa

    Like

  8. Brenda Hardin says:

    I know technically you cancelled the readathon, however I took my weekend off to have my own faux 24in48 weekend. I have been looking forward to this weekend full of snacks, comfy clothes, and lots of good books. Thanks for the inspiration to read read read.

    Like

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