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.
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.
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.