Association of Writers & Writing Programs

Poets, novelists, essayists--in short, writers of every stripe, every level--can find something useful at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) website. The organization’s stated mission "is to foster literary talent and achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing." To that end, their website provides an exhaustive resource of articles, links, and other materials, including a classified section of academic and non-academic job listings, for the budding or professional writer and teacher of writing.

Though many of the site resources are only accessible to AWP members, non-subscribers can certainly find much to read. The Careers section includes articles (many free) offering advice for job seekers, including one specifically for hopeful English professors: "Preparing for the MLA Interview" by Philip Gerard. The Contests section lists information for several annual book contests in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction sponsored by the AWP.

Prospective graduate students in poetry and fiction will find a thorough list of writing programs, with mailing addresses and, when available, links to program websites. The list is broken down by state, featuring hundreds of national and international writing programs that offer either undergraduate or graduate degrees in creative writing genres. Other sections include capsules of articles from the current issue of The Writer’s Chronicle, AWP’s bi-monthly print periodical, as well as an online archive of past issues restricted to members.