The AAWP welcomes postgraduate students currently enrolled in creative writing programs across the Australasian region.

The AAWP encourages postgraduate students to join as members, and invites postgraduate involvement in its activities, including early research conference paper presentation at its annual conference.

As a peak industry body, the AAWP seeks continual improvements to academic programs in the area of creative writing, where those improvements benefit its members. To support its postgraduate members, past AAWP activities have included seminars focused on a discussion of examination procedures and recognition of creative writing research.

The AAWP aims to represent and serve its community, including its postgraduate members, and welcomes suggestions for future improvements in its services and activities.

The AAWP currently offers the following benefits to its postgraduate members:

• An invitation to present at the annual AAWP conference, in an environment supportive of early stage researchers. For many postgraduate students, this provides an excellent introduction to the academic conference experience with a supportive local academic audience. Additionally, the feedback gained from this experience can be invaluable in shaping early stage research. Conference papers have the potential to be accepted into a refereed stream, with possible publication in the refereed conference proceedings.
• The opportunity to join a network of industry professionals, including postgraduate peers from writing programs across the Australasia region. By establishing connections with local peers, postgraduate students can share knowledge and create collaboration opportunities with other future experts in relevant areas of research, from an early research stage onwards.
• Advice, and in some cases advocacy, on supervisor-student relationship conflicts and other aspects of the candidature process.
• A communication channel via which to provide feedback on your writing program experience to an industry representative association, and through this, to influence the future of creative writing programs in the Australasian region.

Any educational institution has the option to join AAWP at an organisational membership level, which provides for 10 named postgraduate memberships to AAWP. Enquire with your institution as to whether they are an organisational member.

Supervisors, please invite your postgraduate students to join the AAWP, to encourage the professional development of early stage researchers in the field of creative writing.