Women East-West is a newsletter sponsored by the ASEEES-affiliated Association for Women in Slavic Studies (AWSS) as a networking resource for people concerned with the problems, status, and achievements of women in the profession. It also attempts to cover research and teaching in women’s studies and questions of gender and family life in Central/Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Founded in December 1986 by Mary Zirin, the newsletter initially was distributed to participants in the Women’s Seminar of the Russian and East European Center’s Summer Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In October 1989, the newsletter became an AWSS publication. Mary Zirin edited 53 issues through May 1998. Subsequent editors of the print edition were Rhonda Clark, Betsy Jones Hemenway, and Nicole Monnier. Co-editors Lisa Kirschenbaum and Sally A. Boniece launched the first digital issue in Summer 2012 according to a plan put in place by then-AWSS President Adele Lindenmeyr. Since Summer 2016, Barbara Allen and Jill Massino have co-edited the newsletter. Kathy Howell, President of the marketing firm Howell Partners, and her associates assemble the digital files into a template of their design.

Women-East West welcomes news and submissions from AWSS members. Articles generally include:

• essays about gender studies and women’s issues (about 1000 words);
• reminiscences by “founding mothers” and other women who have had long associations with AWSS and the field of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (750-1500 words);
• the “Ask Aleksandra” advice column;
• announcements about awards and prizes made by AWSS for research and publications;
• book reviews (see a recent newsletter for a list of books to review);
• research notes that highlight current methods and sources (250-500 words);
• conference announcements;
• member news (publications, awards, promotions, new jobs, etc.)
• photos of members’ travels and research in the region are welcome, if accompanied by a caption.

Please send contributions to awssnewsletter@gmail.com. Deadlines are usually May 1 for the Summer edition and October 1 for the Fall edition.