Application for AWA Training Financial Assistance

We are accepting applications for June 2025–March 2026 training sessions now through March 1, 2025.

We accept all financial aid applications at the beginning of the year. Our deadline for AWA Training Scholarship Applications is March 1, 2025. Applications will only be considered if they were submitted before that date.

Please reserve these dates in case you are granted an interview: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 14th, 15th, and 16th, 12pm-6pm EST (click here to convert to your time zone).

All of the funds for the full calendar year will be awarded in April, following interviews and review of the applications by our financial aid committee.

For more information, please check out this FAQ.

Training Financial Aid Application 2025-2026

If you have submitted an application to attend Amherst Writers & Artists initial workshop leadership training and you are requesting financial assistance, please fill out the following form. Please be thorough on this financial aid application because the financial aid committee does not see the standard application for training. Your answers will help us determine how to distribute the limited funds we have available.

Name

First

Last Name

Last

Pronouns

How should we refer to you? She, he, they, etc.

Phone

Mailing Address

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal

Country

Background

To give you an idea about what comprises a robust answer, we have provided suggested word counts for most of these questions; these are simply suggested parameters.

Please provide some general information about your understanding of AWA. What attracts you to the AWA Method? (Suggested word count—200 words)

2. Have you attended Amherst Writers & Artists workshops? If so, please list the specifics of those workshops—general time frame, theme/topic if applicable, & facilitator’s name. (Suggested word count—100 words)

3. Pat Schneider believed that every person deserves a safe place to craft narratives, poems, essays, art, and literature. She says, “Writing as an art form that belongs to all people, regardless of economic class, culture or educational level.” Pat also believed that “Everyone has a strong, unique voice.” How do these statements resonate with you? (Suggested word count—300 words)

4. What aspects of your personal experience will help you facilitate a process that encourages all voices to be equitably expressed and valued? (Suggested word count—300 words)

5. Please tell us briefly about any teaching/facilitation/workshopping or any other relevant experience that would help you as an AWA leader. (Suggested word count—200 words)

Intentions

6. In what context do you plan to use the AWA method? (For example, will you offer workshops to a general population or specific populations—teenage writers, incarcerated writers, senior writers, writers of color, etc? Perhaps you want to focus on a particular genre of writing—memoir, fiction, poetry, spiritual, etc.) Please describe. (Suggested word count–250 words.)

7. Are you connected to a specific population/demographic/community that you plan to use the AWA Method with? If so, please describe how. (Suggested word count—200 words)

8. If you are not already connected with your desired audiences, how do you envision making that connection? (Suggested word count—200 words)

9. Will you be running the workshops as a supplement to your income? If so, please tell us a little about your intentions. (Suggested word count—100 words)

Financial Information

10. Please tell us a little about the circumstances that cause you to seek financial aid? (Suggested word count—200 words)

11. The cost of the training is $1,750 U.S. How much financial assistance are you requesting?

875

Which training date did you apply for?

June 26-30, 2025

August 27-31, 2025

November 7-9 and 15-16, 2025

March 20-24, 2026

Please check any other training dates you’d be able to attend:

June 26-30, 2025

August 27-31, 2025

November 7-9 and 15-16, 2025

March 20-24, 2026

We suggest all newly-trained AWA facilitators attend a supportive Launch Pad group after their certification to increase their chances of success in offering workshops. Can you commit to 4-6 meetings?

15. Is there anything else you would like the committee to know?

If you are human, leave this field blank.