Join the Association

1. Who can join AWWE?

Membership of the Association is open to anyone, and we welcome members both from within and beyond academia.

2. What types of membership are there?

The Association for Welsh Writing in English offers two types of membership:
  • ordinary members, who pay a standard membership fee
  • patrons, who make a higher donation in order to offer more substantial support to the Association's work
Membership can begin at any time during the year, but formally runs from 1 March for any given year.
We offer excellent reduced-price membership deals for students, as well as for those who are either unwaged or on low incomes (annual earning-levels within the standard UK Personal Allowance - i.e. the tax-free income bracket - or anyone in receipt of Working Tax Credit or Universal Credit; we are also very happy to consider individual circumstances on a case-by-case basis).

3. What are the headline benefits of membership?

  • At least one free scholarly or literary book each year, chosen by the Association from the lists of Welsh publishers, and posted to you directly.
  • Discount codes to save money on books bought directly from the websites of selected Welsh publishers.
  • Discounts off subscriptions to key Welsh cultural magazines.
  • Access to community resources via the Members' Area of the AWWE website (in development).
  • The opportunity to add your teaching/writing/scholarly profile to the Who's Who page in the members' section of the AWWE website. 
  • The option for PhD students to take part in our peer-led mentoring scheme (in development).
  • And of course, you'll be helping to support the work of the Association as we seek to foster the development of Welsh writing in English scholarship at all levels.
For full details of all membership benefits, please see section 7 below...

4. How much does it cost?

A. Ordinary Members
For ordinary members, membership of the Association costs just £35 for a single year (£25 for students/unwaged/low waged) via PayPal. Or you can benefit from a considerably reduced membership rate of £29/£18 per year if you set up an annually recurring payment via PayPal.
B. Patrons
There are three different sorts of patrons, each at a different recurring annual rate:
  • Supporting Patrons donate £50 per year
  • Sustaining Patrons donate £100 per year (or more by individual arrangement)
  • Institutional Patrons (e.g. universities, publishers, and other professional bodies) donate £250 per year
Please note that AWWE Patrons do not pay the standard membership fee as well as their Patron donation.

5. How do we take payment for membership?

PayPal is our primary payment method, because it is secure and very simple for us to administer. However, if you can't use PayPal, please email the Membership Secretary for other options.

6. What do we use membership money for?

Apart from the small percentage fee taken by PayPal for each transaction, we use all membership money to support the broad work of the Association (see section 7 below).
In addition to this, donations from Patrons particularly help:
  • To provide small bursaries to help with attendance at our annual conference (e.g. for postgraduates, recent graduates, and people on low incomes: decisions are made on a case-by-case basis);
  • In cases of hardship, to help authors with permissions costs for quoting from primary sources in articles for the Journal of Welsh Writing in English.

7. Why should I join AWWE?

AWWE will work on behalf of its members to:
  • Foster the study and teaching of Welsh writing in English as an integral area of the study of literatures in English at university level, both within Wales and beyond
  • Promote the inclusion of Welsh writing in English as a focus of study within the school curriculum in Wales
  • Hold events (such as our annual conference and any additional workshops) to enable the dissemination of scholarly research and the development of pedagogy within the field
  • Support the publication of the University of Wales Press International Journal of Welsh Writing in English
  • Provide support and development opportunities for early-career researchers and university students as they seek to engage with Welsh writing in English
  • Reach out to diverse communities in Wales and beyond in order to broaden the community of scholars engaging with Welsh writing in English as a scholarly discipline
  • Develop links between creative literary practitioners in Wales and scholars of Welsh writing in English
  • Strengthen the Welsh writing in English scholarly community
Alongside the benefits arising from these subject-area developments, all members will receive:
  • Each membership year, a hard-copy book relevant to Welsh writing in English scholarship, published by one of the key Welsh publishers. (The volume in question will be announced around the time of the annual conference, and everyone whose membership payment is up-to-date on the annual census point of 1 May will be sent a copy.)
  • Repeat-use discount codes for purchases direct from the websites of key Welsh publishers: 30% off all purchases from Parthian; 25% off all purchases from Seren; 20% off all purchases from University of Wales Press; 15% off all purchases from Honno; 15% off all purchases from Cinnamon; 10% off all purchases from Y Lolfa.
  • Discount codes for subscriptions to key Welsh periodicals (New Welsh Review, Planet, Poetry Wales) - for example, 25% off an annual UK subscription to Poetry Wales, reducing the cost from £27 to £20.25 per year; 50% off Planet: The Welsh Internationalist for one year, for new subscribers
  • Access to the Members' Area on the AWWE website, which is being developed to host the AWWE blog and to contain community resources - e.g. teaching materials, bibliographies.
  • The opportunity to add your teaching/writing/scholarly profile to the Who's Who page in the members' section of the AWWE website.
  • For PhD students, the option to participate in AWWE's peer-led mentoring scheme - currently under development.
For Patrons, we will also list your name and Patron status on the AWWE website. However, this is not necessary, and Patrons can be anonymous if they wish. Apart from this, the additional benefit of being a Patron is simply knowing that you have given an especially high level of assistance to the Association itself - supporting publication of scholarship in the field of Welsh writing in English, helping people take part in the annual conference who might otherwise not be able to attend, and being financially instrumental in keeping the Association going. Thank you!

8. Who can I contact with queries about membership?

If you have any queries about membership, please email the Association's Membership Secretary.

9. Support

​We are profoundly grateful to the Department of English & Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University, who support our membership packages.