Fellowships

AAWW is proud to offer two fellowships for emerging NYC and tristate area-based Asian American and Asian diasporic writers. The Open City Editorial Fellowship offers one emerging writer and editor a unique opportunity to work directly with the Senior Editor of Open City and other members of the editorial team, gaining invaluable experience in researching, editing, and occasionally writing stories. The Margins Fellowship is an opportunity for four New York-based emerging creative writers to establish a home for their writing as they make progress on a book-length work.

Apply for the 2025 Margins and Open City Fellowships here!

Open City Editorial Fellowship

Open City documents the pulse of real-time Asian America. We are looking for individuals with a passion for Asian, Asian American, and Asian diasporic literature, politics, and history, with a particular focus on the experiences of immigrant and Muslim communities in the tristate area.

2019 Open City Fellow Cohort: Astha Rajvanshi, Syma Mohammed, Maryam Mir, Nora Salem, Hannah Bae, and Mohamad Saleh, with Humera Afridi and Noel Pangilinan

The Open City Editorial Fellow receives a $5,000 grant, skill-building workshops, publishing opportunities in The Margins, and the opportunity to research potential stories and identify emerging writers.


The Margins Fellowship

The Margins is our award-winning online magazine of arts and ideas. We seek to bridge literary thought, social justice, pop culture, and critical theory while engaging with immigration, race, and transnationalism. 

2021 Margins Fellow Cohort: Sahar Romani, Ghinwa Jawhari, Anne Branigin, Madeleine Mori

The Margins Fellowship grants a $5,000 fellowship, mentorship, work space, career guidance, and publishing opportunities to four Asian diasporic creative writers based in NYC for a full year. Fellows are also awarded residency time at Millay Arts—an innovative seven-acre artists retreat space at the former house and gardens of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay in Austerlitz, NY.


The Van Lier Fellowship was AAWW’s first fellowship program and was awarded from 1993 to 2005. Given to emerging creative writers of color aged thirty and under, the Van Lier Fellowship supported many Asian American writers at the beginning of their careers, including Cathy Park Hong, Monique Truong, Ava Chin and Tina Chang.