The Military Writers Guild

What The Military Writers Guild does

The Military Writers Guild (MWG) is a US-based nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 2015 by Nathan K. Finney, inspired by the Silicon Guild model. Its mission is to advocate, collaborate, and promote writers engaged with military affairs, national security, and defense themes. Members include present service members, veterans, journalists, scholars, historians, authors, analysts, diplomats, poets, and playwrights who produce or publish original editorial content centered on military topics; admission requires a CV, writing samples, and letters of recommendation, with two yearly application windows in January and July.

MWG operates a portfolio of member programs rather than a unified software product. The flagship offerings are two fully-funded writing fellowships — The Forge Individual Writing Fellowship and The Professor Richard H. Kohn Cohort Writing Fellowship — alongside an annual MWG Awards program recognizing Professional Writing, Creative Writing, and Emerging Writer categories. Supporting programs include a collaboration platform for member networking, the "The Pen and the Sword" podcast, sponsored events and retreats, and partnerships with organizations such as The Harding Project and St. Antony's International Review. The underlying technology stack is composed of consumer-grade SaaS tools (Squarespace, Substack, Apple Podcasts, PayPal, CafePress) with no proprietary technology layer.

MWG is funded through a combination of membership dues, donations via the MWG Giving Fund (processed through PayPal), and merchandise sales through the MWG Gear store on CafePress. Governance is provided by a Board of Directors and a separate Board of Advisors that includes senior active-duty and retired military officers, editors, and published authors. The organization serves a global member base spanning the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, India, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

Name

The Military Writers Guild

Legal name

Military Writers Guild

Website

https://militarywritersguild.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Military Writers Guild is a US-based nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 2015 that supports writers producing work on military affairs through fellowships, awards, a podcast, collaboration resources, and partnerships with organizations such as The Harding Project and Oxford's St. Antony's International Review.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Writing Guild Membership

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAHAK

Literary Arts & Writing Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

Keywords

• Military writing fellowships
• Military affairs content
• Writer guild membership
• Veteran author network
• Military publishing awards

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The guild operates as a membership organization with an application-based admission process. Members include present service members, veterans, journalists, scholars, historians, authors, analysts, diplomats, poets, playwrights, and others actively producing, publishing, or promoting original editorial content centered on military topics.
2. Donations and Giving Fund: The MWG Giving Fund accepts donations to help fund programs such as the Awards program, podcast, future events, retreats, and conferences. Donations support the continued growth of the guild and help members gain wider audiences for their work.
3. MWG Gear Store: The guild operates a merchandise store through CafePress (cafepress.com/shop/MilWritersGuild) where branded merchandise is available for purchase.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Military Writers Guild is a professional membership organization that supports writers working in military affairs through structured fellowships (The Forge Individual Writing Fellowship and The Professor Richard H. Kohn Cohort Writing Fellowship), a military writing awards program, The Pen and the Sword podcast, author collaboration resources, events, and partnerships with aligned military-veteran literary organizations.

Product overview

The Military Writers Guild is a professional guild organization offering a portfolio of programs for writers in military affairs. The core offerings include two writing fellowship programs (The Forge Individual Writing Fellowship for independent projects and The Professor Richard H. Kohn Cohort Writing Fellowship for collaborative retreats), an annual Awards program recognizing excellence in professional, creative, and emerging writing, the 'The Pen and the Sword' podcast exploring war and literature, collaboration resources for member networking, and events programming including retreats and conferences. MWG does not operate as a unified software platform but as a community organization providing these distinct member programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Forge Individual Writing Fellowship An individual writing fellowship supporting writers working in military affairs, providing structured development opportunities for selected authors.
• The Professor Richard H. Kohn Cohort Writing Fellowship A cohort-based writing fellowship supporting a group of writers in military affairs, providing collaborative development opportunities.
• Military Writing Awards Program An awards program recognizing excellence in military-affiliated writing, providing formal recognition for authors in the military writing community.
• The Pen and the Sword Podcast A podcast serving the military writing community with content relevant to authors writing on military affairs.
• Guild Membership Membership in the professional guild for writers in military affairs, providing access to the community, fellowships, events, and other programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• MWG Awards recognize excellence in professional writing, creative writing, and emerging writers annually
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The Harding ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Harding Project aims to renew the Army's system of professional journals, pursuing a four-point platform to inform the Army about changes in military professional publishing. MWG partners with The Harding Project to support and improve the professional practice of writing about military themes.
• St. Antony's International Review (STAIR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Antony's International Review is the University of Oxford's peer-reviewed journal of International Affairs that publishes two issues each year, commentary pieces, podcast episodes, and hosts events during the academic year. MWG partners with STAIR to provide venues and events promoting military writing.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• PEN America: A large, established literary and free-expression professional organization. PEN is broader in scope but shares the writers'-guild operating model (membership, advocacy, programs) that MWG emulates at smaller scale.
• Society of Professional Journalists: The largest U.S. professional organization for journalists. SPJ shares MWG's professional-development and recognition mission for writers, though its scope spans all journalism rather than military topics specifically.

Direct peers

• Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association: A professional guild for speculative fiction writers with membership, an awards program (Nebula Awards), and writer advocacy. Closely parallels MWG in operating as a niche vertical guild serving a defined writer population.
• Military Writers Society of America: The most directly comparable peer: a professional membership organization dedicated exclusively to military writers. MWSA operates its own awards program and book reviews, providing a clear head-to-head alternative for the same writer population MWG serves.
• The Strategy Bridge: Also founded by Nathan K. Finney, The Strategy Bridge is a military writing platform that publishes articles on strategy, doctrine, and defense topics. It is a content-distribution cousin to MWG's publishing mission, with overlapping member communities.
• Mystery Writers of America: A genre-specific writers' guild with a dues-paying membership model, annual awards program (Edgar Awards), and fellowship-style programs. It demonstrates the structural template MWG follows for a niche writer community and offers a benchmark for program design.
• Romance Writers of America: A genre-specific professional writers' guild with membership, an annual awards program (RITA Awards), and chapter-based community structure. RWA offers another example of the niche vertical guild model that MWG operates within.
• National Writers Union: A labor-aligned professional writers' organization providing membership services, advocacy, and contract support. It is a parallel professional guild for working writers, comparable to MWG in mission even if its membership cuts across genres.
• The Authors Guild: The largest U.S. professional guild for published authors, offering membership, advocacy, and contract support. While broader than MWG, it shares the guild structure, dues model, and literary professional mission that defines MWG's operating model.
• Defense Entrepreneurs Forum: Founded by MWG's founder Nathan K. Finney, DEF is a parallel defense-focused professional community that convenes military-affiliated thinkers. It is a sibling organization sharing leadership and member overlap with MWG, making it the most operationally adjacent peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/military-writers-guild

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Military Writers Guild