In 2012, the Asian American Writers' Workshop launched a set of online magazines in order to build conversations around cutting-edge ideas in Asian American literature, art, and social justice. Though the aims of our publications are distinct, both of them are committed to the reinvention and advancement of Asian American intellectual culture.
- The Margins is our award-winning magazine of arts and ideas dedicated to charting the rise of the Asian American creative class through essays, interviews, and creative writing.
We publish: 1) original creative writing, whether poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or even interdisciplinary work; 2) essays on literature and politics by sophisticated thinkers who can speak to a general audience about race, gender, sexuality, immigration, postcolonialism, pop culture, and diaspora; 3) reportage about immigrant communities in NYC by narrative storytellers who can set a scene with rich imagery and descriptive detail.
Our stories have been linked to by the Wall Street Journal, the New Inquiry and the New York Times. Our contributors have included Jessica Hagedorn, Hanya Yanagihara, Chang-rae Lee, Bhanu Kapil, Ashok Kondabolu, Jenny Zhang, Katie Kitamura, Hua Hsu, Kim Hyesoon, Alexander Chee, Vijay Iyer, and Yoko Ogawa. See below for ways you can submit your work!
APPLICATIONS DUE: September 29, by 11:59 PM ET
FELLOWSHIP STARTS: January 1, 2024
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is now accepting applications for the 2023 Margins Fellowship. Four emerging Asian American, Muslim, and Arab writers of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction based in New York City will receive $5,000, residency time at Millay Arts, mentorship, access to the AAWW writing space (COVID-dependent), and publication opportunities in our online magazine, The Margins.
We see this as a chance to support Asian diasporic writers, including South and Southeast Asian diasporic writers, Arab and West Asian writers, and Muslim writers of color more broadly. If you are a writer of color who identifies with these communities, please discuss this in your application.
The Margins is an award-winning online magazine of arts and ideas featuring new fiction and poetry, literary and cultural criticism, and interviews with writers and artists. We are the recipient of a Whiting Literary Magazine award and our stories have been linked to by the Wall Street Journal, The New Inquiry, Literary Hub, and the New York Times.
We strongly encourage all applicants to read our FAQ before applying to determine whether or not they are eligible. The Margins fellowship is open to emerging Asian American, Muslim, and Arab creative writers who reside in New York City. Fellowship applicants may not be enrolled in any academic, conservatory, college, or degree granting training program during the fellowship term. To be considered you must apply through this Submittable form. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us at fellowships@aaww.org.
TIMELINE The Margins Fellowship deadline is Friday, September 29, by 11:59 PM ET. The term of the fellowship is one year, from January to December 2024. Fellows will be selected and notified in December 2023.
HOW TO APPLY
1. READ OUR FAQ.
2. Get to know our magazine.
3. Fill out the application form below by 11:59 PM ET on September 29, 2023 .
Please note all applicants must attach a statement of purpose, a CV/resumé, and a writing sample. There is no application fee. We do not accept handwritten documents, letters of recommendation, or support materials.
APPLICATIONS DUE: September 29, by 11:59 PM ET
FELLOWSHIP STARTS: January 1, 2023
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is now accepting applications for the 2024 Open City Fellowship. The 2024 Open City Fellowship will be open to applicants based in the tristate area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. If you have specific questions, please email fellowships@aaww.org.
The Open City Fellowship is a unique opportunity for four emerging Asian American, Muslim, and Arab writers to publish narrative nonfiction on the vibrant East Asian, South and Southeast Asian, Arab and West Asian, and North and East African communities of the tristate area.
A total of four Fellows will be selected for next year’s Open City Fellowship; two for the Neighborhoods/ Communities Fellowship and two for the Muslim Communities Fellowship.
We are looking for writers eager to hit the ground running covering Asian immigrant neighborhoods and writing about social justice issues—racial, class, and gender equality. Each Fellow must adopt a specific neighborhood or community and a specific theme (i.e., mental health, COVID-19 issues, LGBTQ+ issues, gentrification, etc.) and write stories along these intertwined geographical/cultural and thematic beats. We’re looking for writers to create deft, engaging narratives that bring the face, name, place, and heart of the community to issues like gentrification, immigration, Islamophobia, community policing, and racial and gender discrimination.
Explore our FAQ here to learn more about the fellowship.
MATERIALS
SUBMITTABLE APPLICATION FORM: In this form, we will ask you to specify which neighborhood(s) you are uniquely qualified to cover for Open City.
PROJECT PROPOSAL: Identify two to three story ideas tied by a common theme in your chosen neighborhood. The project proposal should be 900 words maximum, and should outline the two stories (one short- form story of up to, 1,000 words, and one long form story of at least 2,500 words) that you will write over the course of your Fellowship.
CV: Upload a 1-3 page resume or CV that also includes publication history.
WRITING SAMPLES: Attach two or three writing samples that best illustrate the kinds of articles you would like to write for Open City. Samples should not be more than three pages each and must be uploaded to the application form as PDFs or MS Word documents. They should be double-spaced, in 12-point font size, and should not include publication information.
REQUIREMENTS
During the fellowship term, fellows must live in the tristate area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Asian American and Asian diasporic writers are eligible to apply. “Asian American” is defined broadly to include not just, say, Chinese and Indian Americans, but also Asian American adoptee and multiracial writers, Indo-Caribbean writers, and West Asians, such as Iranians and Arab Americans.
Current Fellows may apply for a second round of Fellowship funding if they have completed all the requirements of their current Fellowship. Fellows will need to wait a year after their second Fellowship to apply again. Past Open City Fellows prior to 2022 may apply for the 2024 Open City Fellowships.