What Is AWP and What Does awpwriter.org Offer?

awpwriter.org is the official website of AWP, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs—a membership organization for writers and creative writing programs, founded in 1967 and now counting over ten thousand members plus annual conference attendees. The site is best understood as AWP's public hub: it publishes organizational news, literary and pedagogy-focused articles, and information about AWP's conference, fellowships, and month-long reading celebrations. It is not a general writing-advice blog or a publishing platform; if you are looking for submission calls or craft instruction from an MFA program, you will need to go elsewhere.

What AWP is

AWP describes itself as starting in 1967 as the Associated Writing Programs, and the site is currently marking "60 Years of AWP" with a yearlong celebration running until September 25, 2027. Its audience is twofold: writers themselves, and the creative writing programs (universities, colleges, and affiliated faculty and students) that make up its institutional base. The site's framing—fellowship programs for HBCUs and Tribal Colleges & Universities, a conference, a magazine—reflects that dual focus on individual writers and writing institutions.

What you can read on the site

The homepage's "Featured this Month" section and news feed show the main editorial offerings:

• The Writer's Chronicle — AWP's magazine; the October issue is promoted on the homepage as "perfect reading for sweater weather."
• Creative Writing Currently — a series of posts on teaching and literary community; a recent installment covers "the unique literary citizenship fostered at Cornell College."
• The Writer's News and The Writer's Notebook — linked news and notes columns.
• Seasonal and heritage features — posts on National Book Month (October), National Translation Month (September, including a reading list), and Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15).

These are organizational publications and curated reading lists rather than open-submission journals. If your goal is to read about the field, they are the core of the site; if your goal is to publish your own work, the site does not present itself as that channel.

Events, programs, and conference information

The site is the primary place AWP announces its annual conference and related programs. Current homepage items include:

• #AWP27 HBCU Fellowship Program and #AWP27 Tribal Colleges & Universities Fellowship Program, with pages introducing the faculty and student fellows.
• A 60 Years of AWP Silent Auction, open through October 30.
• A standing warning, "Beware Conference-Related Scams," noting that individuals or organizations may contact people claiming to represent AWP and ask them to verify information.

That last item is worth taking seriously: if someone contacts you claiming to be from AWP around conference time, verify through the official site rather than through the message you received.

Practical notes for using the site

The site includes standard navigation—search, cart, and sign-in/sign-up—so some content and transactions sit behind an account or a purchase. The homepage does not state membership benefits, dues, or what signing in unlocks; those details would need to be confirmed on the relevant membership pages rather than inferred from the navigation alone. Similarly, nothing on the homepage indicates that any paid item or membership is free.

For a writer deciding whether the site is useful: come to awpwriter.org for conference and fellowship announcements, The Writer's Chronicle, and themed reading lists; treat membership and registration details as things to check directly on their own pages before acting.