Asian Women Writers' Collective

The Asian Women Writers' Collective (AWWC), formerly known as the Asian Women Writers Workshop, was an organization of British Asian women writers. Founded by the writer and activist Ravinder Randhawa in 1984, the AAWC provided a platform for several British Asian women to enter writing,[1] including Ravinder Randhawa, Meera Syal, Leena Dhingra, Tanika Gupta and Rukhsana Ahmad.[2]

History

The Asian Women Writers' Workshop was founded in London in 1984. Its aim was to support creative writing by Asian women and increase access to publishers. It was supported by Black Ink Collective, and funded by the Greater London Council (GLC). After the GLC's 1986 abolition, it received funding from Greater London Arts Association and Lambeth Council.[2]

The group grew from a core group of eight South Asian members to a national membership of over a hundred<Veena Stephenson, coordinator of AWWC, participating together in creative writing exercises and sharing work with each other.[2] In 1987 they changed their name to Asian Women Writers' Collective, with some political debate over whether to include the term "Black" in their name:

Some members were in favour of calling themselves 'black' to show their solidarity with Afro-Caribbean women, while others felt discriminated against by certain dominant Afro-Caribbean women's groups. Another set felt that there were too many cultural differences between Asian and Afro-Caribbean writing to make it possible for the groups to respond critically to each other. The title 'Asian Women Writers' Collective' was finally agreed upon on the grounds that there had hitherto been no forum for Asian women to express themselves. It was decided that the collective would work closely with black women's groups and participate in events for black women writers.[3]

Moving beyond its original South Asian membership, in 1992 the collective explicitly adopted a wider definition of the term "Asian", to include those from China, Japan, Korea and Turkey.[2]

Two AAWC anthologies – Right of Way (1988) and Flaming Spirit (1994) – opened up opportunities for previously unpublished AAWC members.[2] Though the AAWC was based in London, its postal membership scheme enabled writers outside London to receive feedback on their writing, so that Flaming Spirit also included writers based in Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff.[4]

In 1991 the AAWC lost its Arts Association funding, and from 1996 Lambeth Council also started cutting funding. Around early 1997 the organization ceased activity.[2] Its papers are held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.[5][6]

Anthologies
  • Right of Way: Prose and Poetry from the Asian Women Writers' Collective. Women's Press. 1988. ISBN 9780704340916.
  • Rukhsana Ahmad; Rahila Gupta, eds. (1994). Flaming Spirit: Stories from the Asian Women Writers' Collective. Virago. ISBN 9781853817496.

References
  1. Ranasinha, Ruvani (2016). "Redefining Britishness: British Asian Fiction". In Mary Eagleton; Emma Parker (eds.). The History of British Women's Writing, 1970–Present: Volume Ten. Springer. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-137-29481-4.
  2. "Asian Women Writers' Collective" (PDF). South Asia Diaspora Arts Archive. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  3. Sen, Asha. "Asian Women Writers' Workshop". In Alison Donnell (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. p. 20.
  4. Abram, Nicola L. (2020), "Forging connections: anthologies, artscollectives, and the politics of inclusion". In Susheila Nasta and Mark U. Stein (eds), The Cambridge History of Black and Asian British Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 403–416. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108164146.026.
  5. AAWC: administrative papers, corresp and manuscripts, also incl personal papers and corresp of individual members, The National Archives. Accessed 5 December 2020.
  6. SADAA: Asian Women Writers Collective (AWWC)
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