EMWA is the European Medical Writers Association. EMWA is the network of professionals that represents, supports and trains medical communicators in Europe. It is a not for profit organisation that is run for and by its members.

The European Medical Writers Association was founded in 1989 by a small group of professional biomedical communicators with academic, industrial and journalistic affiliations. Their aim was to provide a forum to promote standards of excellence in medical writing by furthering the professional development of members and increasing awareness of medical writing throughout Europe.

Initially, formal medical writer training was provided by affiliation with the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA). By 1999, EMWA had come of age when it became a Company Limited by Guarantee, established its own educational committee and developed an educational programme to provide certification as a European trained Medical Writer. EMWA now has over 900 members from 39 countries (including 12 countries outside Europe), and includes academics and professionals working in-house or freelance for pharmaceutical and medical communications companies, research institutes, and in the field of scientific journalism.

EMWA is a great place to pick up the skills needed to broaden your horizons as a medical writer

EMWA's aim is to provide educational and social networking opportunities for its members. It offers a broad variety of medical writing courses that cover topics including:

• basic writing skills (e.g. sentence structure, punctuation)
• statistics for medical writers
• pharmacokinetics
• documents and guidelines specific for the pharmaceutical industry
• public relations
• accounting for freelancers
• learning/enhancing the art of data presentation.

The forum for training with EMWA is its annual conference, held in a different European city each spring, which provides a wonderful opportunity for networking, strengthening your writing skills and sending out feelers to get a sense of other areas you might have been contemplating exploring as a writer. Under the EMWA Professional Development Programme, by completing a set of defined courses, a certificate can be earned that vouches for your training as a medical writer. EMWA provides high quality training by instructors with years of experience as medical writers. The courses offered are selected carefully by the EMWA Professional Development Committee, and all courses are adjudicated by participants to verify their quality and usefulness. We try to cater to a broad audience of writers and are constantly tailoring and expanding our course selection to meet the needs of the members.

EMWA's hallmark: commitment to its members

EMWA is an organisation run for and by its members, and we actively encourage and seek out participation from all our members. By joining us you can have a voice in how the organisation is run and the benefits it provides.

The professional benefits of EMWA membership are accompanied by the personal benefit of having the chance to meet and make lasting friendships with people who share common interests. In addition to this, EMWA members receive the official newsletter, 'The Write Stuff', four times a year.

If you are a biomedical communicator, whether just starting out or a veteran of many years, you are heartily invited to join us as a member of EMWA

• New member (Europe): €120
• Membership renewal (Europe): €100
• New member (outside Europe): €140
• Membership renewal (outside Europe): €120

To join, please download the application form above. The completed application form should be sent to:

EMWA Head Office
Chester House
68 Chestergate
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK11 6DY, UK

Tel: +44(0)1625 664534
Fax: +44(0)1625 664510

Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

or contact or press officer Adam Jacobs  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Alternatively, it is now possible to submit an electronic version of the membership application from via this website. Please click on the "Become a member" button at the top of this page to access this online form and submit your request for membership. 

An introductory package is available upon request from EMWA, which includes pamphlets from previous conferences, to give you an idea of the courses on offer, and a complimentary copy of 'The Write Stuff'.

If you have any further questions regarding membership, feel free to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .