Frequently Asked Questions About AWP

Q: How do I get access to the services offered by eLink?
A: All current full members and members at membership institutions will have access and eventually a limited access to just Chronicle subscribers. Please contact our Membership Services Department at services@awpwriter.org if you have not already.
Log in to eLink

Q: I am looking for the Web Board, where is it?
A: The defunct Web Board is now revamped into The Writers' Circle (Forums) and is a quantum leap from what it once was. Please visit the plethora of capabilities, options, and customization it offers now.

Q: What is The Association of Writers & Writing Programs?
A: The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is a national, nonprofit literary organization for teachers and writers. Founded in 1967, AWP is dedicated to serving writers, teachers, and writing programs. Our core services include publication of The Writer's Chronicle, the AWP Job List, and the AWP Official Guide to Creative Writing Programs. Our Career Services, are available for members only. AWP also sponsors an annual conference & a number of annual writing competitions.

Q:Do I have to apply for membership? How do I become involved?
A: You do not have to submit an application for membership. Individual membership in the AWP, which includes a subscription to The Writer's Chronicle as well as the AWP Job List, is available for $57.00 for one year or $99.00 for two years. For more information on becoming a member, please see our individual membership page on this website.

Q: Do you employ freelance writers or editors? Can you publish my book?
A: AWP does not employ freelance writers or editors. While we accept submissions such as articles & interviews for The Writer's Chronicle, we do not publish works of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction except through our contests. (See next question.) For more information about publishing opportunities, please see the sections on the AWP Award Series & our Writer's Bookshelf, where we offer books on topics such as publishing.

Q: Can you post a link to my site/program/contest on your website?
A: The short answer is no. However, if you have a writing-related site you think our members would be interested in, post the information in our The Writer's Circle Forums. On our eLink members site, organizations may purchase banner advertisement space on the sides of our pages. We also have many levels of sponsorship.

Q: Do you offer scholarships or grants?
Every year, AWP holds the WC&C Scholarship Competition, which awards the winners full or partial tuition to attend a writers' conference of their choice. AWP also sponsors an annual competition for the publication of new book-length works--the AWP Award Series. Winners in novel, short fiction, and creative nonfiction receive publication and a cash honorarium of $2,000. The Donald Hall prize in Poetry awards the poetry winner publication & a cash honoraria of $4,000.

Q: How do I get guidelines for the AWP Award Series?
A: The final guidelines for the 2001 AWP Award Series will be announced in August. To receive the guidelines, please send us a business-size SASE or look them up on this website.

Q: What is the Intro Contest? How do I find out the winners?
The Intro Journals Project is a literary competition for the discovery and publication of the best new works by students currently enrolled in the programs of AWP. Both graduates and undergraduates are eligible. The web page provides guidelines and a list of this year's winners in poetry, fiction, & nonfiction.

Q: Do you have workshops?
A: No, we do not offer workshops.

Q:Do you have chapters in other regions I can join?
A: Our national headquarters are located in Fairfax, VA. We do not have chapters anywhere else in the United States. Our board of directors serve as our regional representatives. The five regions of AWP are Pacific West, West, Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast.

Q: What are some of the best creative writing programs?
A: AWP does not rank creative writing programs. We do publish The AWP Official Guide to Writing Programs, the most comprehensive compilation of undergraduate and graduate writing programs. If you are wondering which writing program would be best for you, consult the Guide.

Q: Can I buy the Guide in a bookstore?
A: The Guide is not available in bookstores. You may order it over the phone or online with a Visa or a Mastercard, or you may send us a check. For more information about ordering the Guide, click here.

Q: Why don't I get the AWP Job List until the middle of the month?
A: The AWP Job List is published mid-month. For your convenience, the publication schedule is listed inside the front cover of each issue. There are seven issues of the AWP Job List per year, which is published on an academic schedule from August to March. To receive the printed AWP Job List as quickly as possible, without waiting for the mail delivery, you may want to subscribe to the online version, which is published the first week of each month, by joining our AWP Web Conferencing system.

Q: Why will AWP terminate the publication of the printed Job List ?
A: The web-based AWP Job List is simply the fastest and best way for AWP to relay job opportunities to our members. Job listings, as you know, are time-sensitive and many last-minute job postings have small windows of time during which their institutions accept applications. The online Job List enables AWP to post job listings four weeks earlier than the printed version. The last printed AWP Job List will be published March 15th, 2007. Whereas the printed list was published only seven times a year, the online AWP Job List is published twelve times a year, the first week of every month. In frequency and in timeliness, the online AWP Job List is a huge improvement in this AWP service

Q: Can I subscribe to the Job List only?
A: In order to receive the Job List, you must be an individual member of AWP, which includes a subscription to The Writer's Chronicle and the Job List. Faculty members who belong to AWP's institutional programs may receive the Job List at a reduced fee.

Q: How does the Career Services work? Do I have to be a member first?
A: AWP will maintain, copy, and mail your dossier for job searches. For more information about Career Services, click here. You must be an individual member--not a Chronicle subscriber-- to use Career Services.

Q: Why am I not getting any issues during the summer?
A: The Writer's Chronicle and the printed Job List follow an academic publication schedule. The online version of the AWP Job List is published the first week of every month. AWP will terminate publication of the printed AWP Job List in March, 2007.

Q: I notified AWP of my change of address, but I'm still not receiving current issues of the Chronicle. What is wrong?
A: Please send us your change of address in advance so we may enter it into our system. Even if you send your change of address to your post office, they will not forward bulk mail, which is the method we use to send the Chronicle. The Job List will be automatically forwarded since it is sent first class. Again, please contact our office at least one month before moving. This will ensure timely delivery of your AWP magazines.

Q: Who do I contact about...?
A: Information regarding who to contact for various reasons can be found on the contacts page.

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