Announcing the 2025 Open City Editorial Fellowship
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW) is excited to announce the Open City Editorial Fellowship, a new iteration of AAWW’s long-standing Open City Fellowship. In 2025, the program will focus on editorial and journalistic development, offering one emerging writer and editor a unique opportunity to contribute to Open City, a section of The Margins devoted to the life, senses, and politics of immigrant and Muslim communities in the New York tristate area.
The ideal fellow is passionate about telling the stories of immigrant communities in New York City and beyond. They will 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 selected fellow will be based in New York City and will dedicate at least four hours per week to the fellowship from February 2025 to January 2026. The fellow will be expected to occasionally meet in person at AAWW’s offices in Chelsea and will receive:
- A $5,000 stipend;
- Access to AAWW events, conferences, and workshops;
- Use of the AAWW office and library;
- Mentorship from The Margins editorial team.
Fellowship Responsibilities
The fellow will assist with the editorial operations of Open City by:
- Collaborating with the Senior Editor on story edits;
- Screening pitches and fact-checking articles;
- Writing original stories for Open City;
- Copyediting stories with a quick turnaround;
- Researching potential stories and writers;
- Meeting with the Senior Editor or AAWW staff every two weeks.
Who Should Apply?
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. The ideal candidate will have:
- Strong writing and verbal communication skills;
- A firm grasp of journalistic standards and practices;
- Some experience in editing and fact-checking;
- A collaborative approach to writing and editing;
- Familiarity with The Chicago Manual of Style and copyediting (preferred);
- On-the-ground knowledge of immigrant and Muslim communities in the tristate area (preferred).
How to Apply
Interested applicants should apply through submittable, and should submit:
- A cover letter;
- Résumé;
- A pitch for a story you would like to write for Open City;
- Two writing samples of journalistic work.
Applications are due by December 15, 2024.
This fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to develop your editorial and writing skills while amplifying stories from underrepresented communities in New York City. We look forward to reviewing your applications!
Explore our Open City Fellowship alumni here.
Open City is one of the projects of The Margins, the online publication of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. It documents the pulse of metropolitan Asian America and Muslim America as it’s being lived right now.
Previous Open City Fellows have gone on to write and edit for MSNBC, the New Yorker, Curbed, the New York Times, TIME, Granta, and Al Jazeera America, among other outlets. Their works during their time as Fellows have been picked up by NPR, the Atlantic Cities, and the New York Times.