ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT

What ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT does

The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1992 and headquartered in Keene, New Hampshire (Federal ID: 54-1640944). It serves scholars, writers, artists, educators, and students working in the environmental humanities and ecocriticism, with a stated membership of approximately 1,450 individuals across more than 30 countries. ASLE operates with minimal paid infrastructure—primarily one part-time Managing Director (Amy McIntyre, since 2004)—and is otherwise run by elected academic volunteers serving on its Executive Council.

ASLE's core offerings center on the quarterly peer-reviewed journal ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, published through Oxford University Press, alongside a biennial academic conference (held since 1995 in odd years), the ASLE EcoCast podcast, the ASLE Spotlight video series, a graduate student mentoring program, book and paper awards (since 2007), and modest research subvention and translation grants (up to $1,000). Distribution runs through its WordPress-based website (asle.org), Google Groups discussion list, Facebook and Twitter presence, and podcast platforms. International affiliates include ASLE-Japan (1994), ASLE-ASEAN, ALECC (Canada), and ASLE-UKI.

Revenue derives from tiered individual membership dues ($30–$130/year based on income, plus Patron, Sustaining, and Lifetime options up to $1,500), tax-deductible donations, and biennial conference registration. Membership is sold exclusively to individuals—institutional access to ISLE is handled via OUP subscriptions. The organization's GTM is community-led and event-driven, with growth primarily organic through academic word-of-mouth and conference participation.

Name

ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT

Legal name

Association for the Study of Literature and Environment

Website

https://asle.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ASLE is a U.S. nonprofit professional association founded in 1992 that serves roughly 1,450 environmental humanities scholars, writers, and educators worldwide through the ISLE journal, biennial conferences, and digital programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees paid by individual members. Tiered pricing based on income level, ranging from $30/year (income under $24,000) to $130/year (income over $100,000). Additional tiers include Lifetime Membership ($1,500), Patron ($250/year), and Sustaining ($150/year). A 10% discount is offered on multi-year memberships.
2. Donations: Tax-deductible donations to ASLE as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Federal identification number: 54-1640944. Donations support specific programs including Book Awards, Subvention Grants, and Translation Grants.
3. Biennial Conference Revenue: Revenue generated from the biennial conference held in odd years. ASLE has held conferences since 1995, with each conference featuring creative and ecocritical panels and plenary speakers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ASLE is a nonprofit professional association that supports scholars, writers, and educators in the environmental humanities by providing individual membership benefits, the peer-reviewed ISLE academic journal (published quarterly through Oxford University Press), the ASLE EcoCast podcast, the ASLE Spotlight video series, a biennial international conference, research and translation grants, a mentoring program, and book and paper awards.

Product overview

ASLE offers a portfolio of programs and services supporting intellectual work in the environmental humanities and arts. The core offerings include the ISLE academic journal (published quarterly by Oxford University Press), the ASLE EcoCast podcast featuring environmental conversations, the ASLE Spotlight video series showcasing new scholarship, and biennial conferences bringing together scholars worldwide. Additional services include a grants program supporting innovation and translation projects, a mentoring program for graduate students and early career scholars, book and paper awards recognizing excellence, and membership access to the ISLE journal archives and member community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASLE Membership Program Annual individual membership program for scholars, researchers, graduate students, and creative writers in environmental humanities, providing access to ISLE Journal, member community, publisher discounts, conference participation, grants, awards, and professional networking. Tiered pricing based on income level.
• ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment Official peer-reviewed academic journal of ASLE published quarterly by Oxford University Press, featuring scholarly articles, poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction exploring the relationship between human beings and the natural world across the environmental humanities.
• ASLE Biennial Conference International academic conference held in odd years featuring creative and ecocritical panels, plenary speakers, workshops, and networking opportunities for environmental humanities scholars, writers, and artists worldwide.
• ASLE Grants Program Competitive grant program for ASLE members offering Subvention Grants of up to $1,000 for innovative projects (art installations, documentary films, digital humanities projects) and Translation Grants for translating ecocritical work into or from English.
• ASLE Mentoring Program Structured mentoring program pairing graduate students and early career scholars with experienced ASLE members for career guidance, scholarship support, and creative writing mentorship.
• ASLE Book & Paper Awards Annual awards program recognizing excellence in environmental humanities, including the Ecocriticism Book Award and Environmental Creative Writing Book Award, plus graduate student paper awards.
• ASLE EcoCast Podcast Podcast series featuring interviews with authors and scholars in the environmental humanities, covering new books, climate storytelling, ecomedia, and ecocriticism topics. Distributed on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
• ASLE Spotlight Video Series Digital video series featuring moderated conversations with ASLE members who have produced new critical and creative work in the environmental humanities, organized by theme. Episodes are recorded and posted to YouTube.
• ASLE Discussion List Email discussion forum hosted through Google Groups for conversations related to environmental humanities, open to anyone with an interest in the field who adheres to the community's rules of conduct.
• ASLE Regional Collaboratories Virtual gatherings and programming for regional connection and collaboration among ASLE members, with flexible understanding of region (geographic, bioregional, thematic, or hybrid).

Quantifiable outcome

• ASLE members have access to grants up to $1,000 each, with up to five grants available in 2026 for subvention and translation projects.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ASLE-Japan (International Affiliate)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1994International affiliate established in 1994, signaling ASLE's international orientation. ASLE-Japan continues as an active affiliate organization.
• Modern Language Association (MLA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional affiliate organization. MLA sponsors sessions at ASLE's biennial conference. Contact: Everett Hamner.
• Oxford University PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOxford University Press is the publisher of ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, ASLE's official journal. The journal is published quarterly and distributed both in print and digitally. Libraries and institutions must subscribe through OUP rather than ASLE directly.
• Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerASLE joined AWP through its Writers' Conferences & Centers (WC&C) membership program. This partnership provides ASLE members with access to WC&C Scholarship Competition eligibility.
• American Literature Association (ALA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional affiliate organization. ALA sponsors sessions at ASLE's biennial conference. Contact varies by year.
• American Studies Association (ASA) - Environment and Culture CaucusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional affiliate with Environment and Culture Caucus (ECC). Contact: Sarah Wald.
• Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional affiliate organization that sponsors sessions at ASLE conferences. Contact: Jennifer Garcia Peacock.
• ASLE-ASEAN (International Affiliate)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational affiliate for Southeast Asia region. Part of ASLE's global affiliate network including ALECC (Canada) and ASLE-UKI.
• DANS (Disciplinary Associations' Network for Sustainability)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of disciplinary associations for sustainability. ASLE participates through this network. Contact: Susan Cohen.
• Center for Environmental Studies at Rice UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with ASLE in producing the 'Planet Now! / Planeta herido: una conversación' series featuring Latin American writers, artists, and activists.
• Literal Publishing (Houston)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with ASLE and Rice University Center for Environmental Studies on the 'Planet Now! / Planeta herido' conversation series.
• ASLE Honorary MembersminorOthersASLE honorary members include prominent figures in environmental humanities and creative writing: Homero & Betty Aridjis, Wendell Berry, Linda Hogan, Mary Oliver, Ruth Ozeki, Scott Russell Sanders, Gary Snyder, E.O. Wilson, and others who have made significant contributions to the fields of creative writing, indigenous studies, and place studies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Modern Language Association (MLA): The largest U.S. professional association for scholars of language and literature. MLA directly partners with ASLE by sponsoring sessions at ASLE's biennial conference and shares an overlapping membership base in literary studies.
• ASLE-Japan: ASLE's international affiliate in Japan, founded in 1994. It operates the same environmental humanities mission for Japanese scholars and provides a direct regional peer organization with overlapping membership and conference activity.
• ASLE-UKI: ASLE's international affiliate serving the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is a federated peer organization advancing the same environmental humanities agenda for UK/Irish scholars.
• ALECC (Association for Literature, Environment, and Culture in Canada): ASLE's international affiliate in Canada. It serves Canadian scholars and writers in ecocriticism and environmental humanities with a parallel membership, conference, and publication model.
• ASLE-ASEAN: ASLE's international affiliate for the Southeast Asia region. It is part of ASLE's federated global network and operates the same mission in a distinct geography.
• American Studies Association (ASA): Major U.S. interdisciplinary academic association. ASA's Environment and Culture Caucus directly overlaps with ASLE's mission and the organizations co-sponsor conference sessions.
• American Literature Association (ALA): Professional association for scholars of American literature. ALA sponsors sessions at ASLE's biennial conference and shares a significant portion of ASLE's literary scholar membership.
• Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA): Interdisciplinary academic association bridging literature, science, and technology studies. SLSA sponsors sessions at ASLE conferences and operates a comparable peer-reviewed journal and conference model.

Broad incumbents

• H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online: Larger, established network of humanities and social science discussion lists and resources. H-Net provides a broader infrastructure for academic community-building that enables but does not specifically target ecocriticism, making it a broad incumbent in the same academic-support space.

Emerging players

• Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society: LMU Munich-based center for environmental humanities that publishes the open-access journal Resilience and runs research programs and conferences. It is an emerging institutional player in the same environmental humanities field with overlapping scholarly community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ASLE_US
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/ASLE-Association-for-the-Study-of-Literature-and-Environment/110738002282120?ref=ts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT