What are the benefits of membership?

  • The Atlanta Writers Club (AWC) hosts a monthly meeting for its members and first-time guests on the third Saturday of each month that features accomplished authors, agents, editors, or other professionals who addresses a variety of topics concerning the craft and/or business of writing.
  • The AWC sponsors critique groups for its members that meet all over the metro Atlanta area as well as online.
  • In addition, the club organizes members-only writing workshops throughout the year and twice yearly holds the members-only Atlanta Writers Conference, where a dozen or more literary agents and publishing editors critique manuscript samples, respond to pitches about members’ work, engage in a Q&A panel, and provide a writing-and-publishing workshop. The AWC also offers the Atlanta Self-Publishing Conference each spring for those writers who are interested in or have already embarked upon self-publishing their work.
  • Also, the AWC sponsors an annual writing contest for its members with cash prizes and publication.
  • Networking is yet another benefit: the AWC has over 1,300 members, who represent the full range of genres in fiction and nonfiction, plus memoir, essays, blogs, graphic novels, poetry, screenwriting, playwrighting, journalism, and freelance work. We encompass the gamut of experience levels, from those just getting started to writers who are marketing their first book to authors with many publications. New members are able to get quick, accurate answers to their questions thanks to the wealth of experienced members in the club.
  • To join the AWC, go to the Membership page.

What are the requirements for joining the AWC? Is there a membership fee? How do I join?

  • The only requirement to join the AWC is an interest in writing. The membership fee is $60 and gives you membership for 365 days. Discounts are offered to students and to the family of current members. See our Membership page for details. There, you can join online with a credit card or PayPal, or you can download a membership form, complete it, and mail it to the AWC Treasurer along with a check for the club dues.

I’d like to get more involved with the AWC. How can I volunteer?

  • The AWC is an all-volunteer organization, so there are many different ways to help the club grow evermore vibrant:
    • At our monthly meetings we need volunteers to assist with welcoming guests and members. Go to the Board Members page and click the Operations VP listing to send an e-mail about your interest.
    • At our workshops and twice-yearly Atlanta Writers Conference we need volunteers to check in registrants. On the List of Board Members page, and click the Officer Emeritus & Atlanta Writers Conference Director listing to send an e-mail about your interest.
    • We put out occasional calls for volunteers to help us in our booth at a literary festival, do community outreach events such as working with students to develop their first book, and assist in other activities that bring readers and writers closer. When you see these e-mail requests, follow the directions to respond and offer your help.
    • Every AWC board member appreciates assistance, so if there is another aspect of the club in which you are interested–from Contests to Marketing to assisting the President or Programs VP–go to the List of Board Members page and click the e-mail link for the board member responsible for the area in which you are interested.

I’ve just finished my first book. Could you tell me what to do to get it published?

  • Many of the club’s monthly speakers address the business of writing, as do the members-only workshops the AWC offers throughout the year. Twice yearly, the AWC holds the members-only Atlanta Writers Conference, where a dozen or more literary agents and publishers’ editors critique manuscript samples, respond to pitches about members’ work, and engage in Q&A panels to discuss the publishing industry. You will also learn by networking with your fellow AWC members to get tips about submitting for publication, working with literary agents, and more. We have over 1,300 members, who represent the full range of fiction genres and the gamut of experience levels, including writers who are marketing their first book all the way up to authors with many publications. Those seeking to self-publish their work will benefit from our annual Atlanta Self-Publishing Conference.

I’m in the process of publishing a book. Would some of your members be willing to give me a blurb?

  • Networking is a primary benefit of membership in the Atlanta Writers Club. We encourage you to network with our members at our meetings, Atlanta Writers Conferences, critique groups, and other events to find those with similar interests who are in a position to offer book reviews and other means of assistance. The AWC encourages those interested in the club to attend one of the monthly meetings for free to make sure that it will be right for them. To join the club, go to the Membership page.

I’ve had an idea for a book for years. What do I need to do to get started?

To what extent is the AWC involved with the literary community in Atlanta?

  • The AWC has participated in the Decatur Book Festival since its inception and assists the festival with an annual donation. The club contributes money and manpower to the biannual Townsend Award ceremony honoring the top author in Georgia over the past two years. Through our partnership with Georgia State University (GSU), we offer a scholarship each year to a GSU English major enrolled on its Perimeter College-Dunwoody Campus. Club members also support the Georgia Center for the Book, Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta History Center, and Carter Center and volunteer at literary festivals around metro Atlanta and beyond. In addition, the club advertises non-AWC-related literary events, author talks, and booksignings around the region.

Do you have small peer groups for writers to critique each other’s work?

  • The AWC sponsors critique groups for its members that meet all over the metro Atlanta area as well as online to help you hone your writing skills. The AWC encourages members to form their own critique groups, too, which we will advertise on our website and in our monthly eQuill newsletter.

Where and when do you meet? What types of programs do you offer?

  • The Atlanta Writers Club meets on the third Saturday of each month, usually at 1:30 p.m.—unless there is a special program, which will be advertised on our website and in our eQuill newsletter. From August until May, the AWC meets at Georgia State University: Perimeter College – Dunwoody Campus. In June, we host a free literary festival in collaboration with Gwinnett County. In July, while GSU’s Perimeter College – Dunwoody Campus is closed, the club hosts a half-day workshop for members at an alternative location, which will be advertised on our website and in our eQuill newsletter. The monthly meeting for members and first-time guests features accomplished authors (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, and other genres), agents, editors or other industry professionals who addresses a variety of topics concerning the craft and/or business of writing. In addition, the club organizes members-only writing workshops throughout the year and twice yearly holds the members-only Atlanta Writers Conference, where a dozen or more literary agents and publishing editors critique manuscript samples, respond to pitches about members’ work, and engage in Q&A panels. Paying the $50 annual club dues (discounts given to students and the family of current club members) will enable you to attend all meetings and workshops during the year for free and also gain access to the twice-yearly Atlanta Writers Conference and any other events reserved for members. The AWC encourages those interested in the club to attend one of the monthly meetings for free to make sure that it will be right for them. To join the club, go to the Membership page.

Is there a fee to come to one of your meetings?

  • The AWC encourages those interested in the club to attend one of the monthly meetings for free to make sure that it will be right for them. For second-time guests and thereafter, each meeting costs $15 to attend, so it makes sense to join the club for $60 (with discounts for students and family of current members) and attend meetings and workshops at no additional cost throughout the year rather than to keep paying the fee at the door. To join the club, go to the Membership page.

Could you tell me something about the history of your organization and what you do?

  • The AWC was founded in 1914 and exists to teach its members the craft and business of writing. The club hosts a monthly meeting for its members and first-time guests on the third Saturday of each month, and periodic workshops, which feature accomplished authors, agents, editors, or other industry professionals. The AWC sponsors critique groups for its members that meet all over the metro Atlanta area as well as online. In addition, the club twice yearly holds the members-only Atlanta Writers Conference, where a dozen or more literary agents and publishing editors critique manuscript samples, respond to pitches about members’ work, and engage in Q&A panels about the craft and business of writing. Also, the AWC sponsors an annual writing contest for its members with cash prizes and publication. Networking is yet another benefit: the AWC has over 1,300 members, who represent the full range of genres (i.e., every kind of fiction and nonfiction, plus memoir, poetry, blogging, graphic novels, screenwriting, playwriting, journalism, and freelance work) and span the gamut of experience levels, from those just getting started to writers who are marketing their first book to authors with many publications.