Welcome to the start of Michigan Summer — that delightful block between Memorial Day and Labor Day where road construction is in full swing.

We’re sliding into your inboxes with two bits of News You Can Use™.

First, as of yesterday, the NaNoWriMo websites have gone permanently dark. The woman who drove the organization into the ground (Kilby Blades, the pen name of romance author Kim Webb Palacios) had previously announced the closure of the organization, with a promise that the websites would run for as long as there was money. Apparently, the money has now run dry and the nonprofit formerly known as National Novel Writing Month has closed its final chapter.

Second, mark your calendars!

• Spring/Summer Writers’ Conference — Sat., July 26
• Fall Writers’ Conference — Sat, Oct. 4.
• GRRWG Annual Conference — Sat. Oct. 11.
• Day of Knockout Noveling — Sat., Nov. 22.
• Winter Writers’ Conference — Sat., Dec. 13.

More information about these events will follow. Until then, enjoy your summer, and may all your local navigation be traffic-cone free.