The Crew is an international writing group started by the novelist Peter Lihou with the objective of proving that a disparate group of authors could work together and complete a successful novel in twelve months. Over the months the authors have faced a multitude of challenges aside from those created by the project, ranging from extreme climatic emergencies (including a volcanic eruption) to life threatening illnesses and several bereavements, financial hardship, lifestyle and career pressures. Inevitably some have been unable to accommodate the project and consequently there have been reductions in the membership of The Crew. The creative process, however, has continued to be nurtured by… the remaining authors. During the life of the project a total of 53 individuals contributed to either the planning or writing phases. Seventeen embarked on the yearlong writing phase that has taken the equivalent of 12 man (and woman) years to complete as well as more than 8,000 messages on the closed Internet forum. These required over 133,000 page views by the authors or an average of 12,000 each, over the course of the year. To date, none of the authors have met in person and the only contact has been via the Internet.