AWP Launches Scholarship Program for HBCUs

The Association of Writers & Writing Programs will launch the HBCU MFA Think Tank, a new initiative supporting creative writing educators from historically Black colleges and universities in exploring the “viability of MFA programs at HBCUs.” Currently, no such program exists.

Ten scholarships will be awarded to HBCU faculty and administrators involved in creative writing at their institutions, bringing the recipients together with 10 practicing writers on faculty at HBCUs for a roundtable discussion, to be held at the 2025 AWP Conference, which is slated for March 26–29 in Los Angeles. The group will “engage in interdisciplinary dialogue and innovative problem-solving to contribute to the mission of establishing MFA programs at HBCUs and to increase the cultural presence of HBCU-educated aspiring writers within the literary community at large,” per AWP. The program is partially funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

To be eligible for the HBCU MFA Think Tank at #AWP25, applicants must currently be a faculty member or administrator at an HBCU, teach creative writing or be actively engaged in creative writing at an HBCU, and be able to travel and be at next year’s conference. Click here for more information.