Apply for Membership

Writers living in Michigan who have traditionally or impartially published works that show professional excellence are invited to apply for membership in Detroit Working Writers.

Applications are reviewed by the New Membership Committee and the full Board of Directors, whose decision is final. We are committed to inclusion and to consistent professional excellence. The Resources Tab on the DWW website includes a list of resources to help you submit your works for traditional publication.

Please send us your best samples. Successful applicants have submitted impartially vetted news and feature articles in newspapers and magazines (not advertising copy), as well as competitively selected stories and poems published by journals, reviews, and anthologies. Writing samples may be published in either print or online format. Some DWW members are romance writers. However, for the purpose of applying for membership, please do not submit samples with pornography or erotica.

DWW requires a $30.00 non-refundable fee via PayPal as part of the application. The link to pay is below the submission form. Your membership submission will not be considered until fee payment is received via PayPal.

The DWW 2022 membership application season began on January 1 and will conclude on March 31.

Michigan writers at least 18 years of age with five or more traditionally or impartially published works are invited to apply for membership regardless of race, religion or faith, national origin, sex, or gender identity. Writing samples will be evaluated solely on the basis of consistent professional excellence.

Please read the directions on this form before you begin. Applications and samples that do not follow the guidelines will not be considered or returned. Please complete the form below: 

Click here to pay the $30.00 application fee via PayPal.

Any questions can be addressed to: NewMembership@detworkingwriters.org

Instructions:

APPLICANTS must submit 5 traditionally or impartially published works. Those applicants accepted for membership may:

• Attend workshops, programs, and open board meetings
• Facilitate workshops and programs
• Participate in and chair committees
• Vote on proposals reserved for membership as determined in DWW’s Constitution and Bylaws

Guidelines: Submit legible PDFs of no more than 5 separate, exemplary samples of traditionally or impartially published works with single authorship or bylines in any or several of the following publication forms: newspapers; professional newsletters; periodicals; literary or scholarly press; fiction or nonfiction books; poetry; and scripts for plays, film, or television. Works published exclusively online also may be considered on a case-by-case basis if they have been competitively selected. We need to see proof of the publisher and date of publication.  For samples published in a book, we need a PDF copy of the copyright page and table of contents and up to two pages of your written content. For clips from newspapers and magazines, we need a PDF copy of the actual clip with publisher credit and date of publication. For online articles, please email a PDF copy of the article with information about the online publisher and date of publication. For plays, we need a PDF copy of the playbill.

YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE MUST INCLUDE:

1. Your completed application form with payment to PayPal noted.
2. PDF copies of your five separate writing samples. We do not accept pornography or erotica for application purposes. All five samples must be impartially published material according to the guidelines stated above. Note: applicants may include a PDF letter of recommendation from a DWW member.