Established in 1993, RAWI is a national organization that provides mentoring, community, and support for Arab-American writers and those with roots in the Arabic speaking world and diaspora. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) literary organization dedicated to supporting and disseminating creative writing and scholarly writing by Arab/SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) Americans and those from the Arabic speaking world–which often means creating space and highlighting voices and people threatened by erasure.

We put on readings, panels, workshops, roundtables, conferences, and festivals that emphasize inclusivity. Despite the fact that Arab-American/SWANA voices continue to become more prominent, opportunities for us to share our experiences and insights, as well as to discuss the trajectory of our community’s literature, is limited. Therefore, RAWI’s biennial gathering provides a rare opportunity to bring a large number of Arab-American/SWANA writers, artists, and scholars (and their readers, allies, and admirers) into the same space so we can engage in various dialogues otherwise unavailable to us.