It's that time of year again - time to elect a new committee!

There are several positions available (read more about each below). Being a part of the CWS Committee is a dynamic, fun position that also teaches you important real-world skills, and looks great on CV's and applications. The time commitment will depend on your role, but all members are expected to plan, book venues, and run at least one event or workshop per term. 

The society also works closely with our journal, ENIGMA, and the journal director position is perfect for anyone interested in publishing careers!

The positions:

President:

President: The primary role of the president is overseeing all other committee members to ensure their roles are being fulfilled, and liaising between them to make sure events/workshops are planned and run effectively (for example, making sure social secretaries have treasurers' approval for financing events, and that the publicity secretary knows the details of events so they can publicise them). The other main role is planning and running events, including writing workshops, social events (like pub quizzes), and showcases. Other duties include; setting up collaborations with other societies; promoting Enigma; organising and running regular committee meetings; checking in with committee members to make sure workshops run well, they are okay with the balance between society duties and academic work; being prepared to run a workshop/event last minute in case of an emergency. You will also be involved in a lot of the student guild admin.

Vice President:

This role requires you to be the intermediate player between all other committee members. It is important to be able to chase up other committee members in a way that is respectful whilst still ensuring that all societal commitments are upheld and kept to. This role requires you to help organise collaborations with other societies, organise and book both internal and external venues for socials, run socials, and support other committee members in their tasks and goals. Maintaining a social and supportive presence at most socials is also vital to this role and creating a better society overall.

Treasurer:

Being treasurer involves being in control of the society's finances. It involves approving expenses, budgeting for events, stash, and pricing for things like memberships. As well as financial things, the treasurer is also involved in planning and running events and workshops.

Publicity Secretary:

This role entails keeping on top of and maintaining all of our society's social media pages and channels. These are currently Instagram, Facebook, and Discord. It is important to communicate with other committee members to make sure that all socials are announced in advance with a unique and pleasing post layout, as well as answer questions asked to the society succinctly, respectfully, and helpfully. This role is extremely important to communicate with other societies when organising collaborative socials and posts, and then keeping the rest of the committee informed on what is happening.

Journal Director:
• Appoint a team of editors to work on fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and script submissions.
• Hold ENIGMA socials throughout the year.
• Support the rest of the committee by preparing and delivering workshops.
• Promote successful submissions through ENIGMA’s social media.
• Organise the print journal and its launch.

Social Secretary (x2 positions):

Social Secretaries are in charge of planning and running events. They book rooms, upload event details onto Fixr and fill out the risk assessments. As with the other committee roles, Social Secretaries run their own workshops, usually with another committee member. They also brainstorm ideas for a variety of themed writing socials. As a Social Sec, you'll liaise with other committee members — for example, you'll liaise with the Publicity Sec to ensure everything is advertised. This is a fun, rewarding role that allows you to plan a variety of activities. As there are two Social Sec positions, you get to share the workload with another person.

Please write a small paragraph/manifesto as to why you want the role and why people should vote for you.

Important information:

• You can nominate yourself for three positions on Committee
• Due to the level of commitment on top of University and any other responsibilities you may have, we don't recommend you are on the Committee for more than two societies (depending on level of time commitment and responsibility)
• Some flexibility may be required (for example if another committee member is sick and a workshop/event needs covering), but you shouldn't jeopardise your university work for the society - workshops and responsibilities should be shared between members
• You will likely be required to travel to the campus to run workshops and events, as well as venues in the city.
• You don't need to have experience on a committee - the best thing you can bring is dedication and passion! On your manifesto you should detail why you want the role, why you would be good, and any ideas you have

You can email the society (creativewritingsociety@outlook.com) or message us on Instagram (@creativewritingexeter) if you have any questions or want to know more about a role!