The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is a nonprofit dedicated to publishing and amplifying Asian diasporic literary 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, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and 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 the United States 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!
The Margins is open for creative nonfiction submissions, with a particular interest in lyric essays and pieces that incorporate historical and/or cultural analysis. We’re also interested in essays that play with genre, such as zuihitsu and flash essays.
Submission guidelines:
- Submit either: a single piece of up to 3,500 words OR up to three flash essays of no more than 1,000 words each (please submit the pieces in a single document).
- All work must be previously unpublished.
- We accept submissions in translation; please confirm you have secured the rights to translate the original piece before submitting.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if the work has been accepted elsewhere by messaging us through Submittable and indicating which pieces are no longer available.
- Pieces must be your original work, authored or written solely by you, and may not include material generated by AI.
- We welcome submissions from Asian and Asian diasporic writers, including those that identify as South, Southeast, East, North, and Central Asian; SWANA; Pacific Islander; and Indo-Caribbean.
We’re looking for pieces like:
- Nina Li Coomes’s essay on breastfeeding during a heatwave;
- Sarah Aziza’s lyric investigation into language and her family history in Palestine;
- Maddie Mori’s piece on wine;
- Daphne Palasi Andreades’s hybrid essay featuring Filipino nurses during the pandemic;
- Tina Chang’s zuihitsu considering violence against Asian women.
We pay for all published pieces. Rates for writers are here.
Writers can expect to hear back on their submissions within four to six months.
Building on the foundation of the Workshop's flagship Margins Fellowship, which has incubated writers since 2014 and produced National Book Award winners, screen adaptations, and celebrated debuts, the Margins Residency expands our reach beyond New York City to writers across the United States.
Four residents will be selected to participate in a residency at Writing Downtown Las Vegas, an independent bookstore and literary hub offering dedicated writing space, workshops, and community. Residents receive access to AAWW's broader network of editors, agents, and publishing professionals, the same professional scaffolding that has made the Margins Fellowship a launchpad for some of the most vital voices in contemporary Asian American literature.
The Margins Residency exists because talent is everywhere, but institutional support is not. Asian and Asian diasporic writers across the country deserve the time and resources to write the books that will shape how our stories are told, and who gets to tell them.
APPLICATIONS DUE: April 13, 2026, by 11:59 PM ET
Winners will receive:
- 2-4 week residency with Writing Downtown in Las Vegas, Nevada, including economy-class airfare;
- One-hour virtual consultation with an AAPI literary agent;
- One complimentary seat to an AAWW workshop;
- One full-day pass to the AAWW’s 2026 Publishing Conference.
- Networking and mentorship through the AAWW Fellowship communities.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- Applicants with previously published books are ineligible.
- All genres of work will be considered.
- All submissions should include a one-page synopsis or overview of the work
- Our ideal manuscript is a nearly-complete draft of 50,000-100,000 words – let us help you get your book over the finish line!
- Please attach all materials in either Word .doc, .docx, or PDF format
- All work must be original; translations will not be accepted
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.
The Margins Residency is made possible by support from The Asian American Foundation.