ITW’s Mission is: “To bestow recognition and promote the thriller genre at an innovative and superior level for and through our Active Members; to provide opportunities for mentoring, education and collegiality among thriller authors and industry professionals; and to grant awards for excellence in the thriller genre.” ITW By-laws: Article II, Purposes, Section 2

If you are a commercially published thriller author or a commercially produced screenwriter or playwright, we invite you to join ITW as an Active Member. Only Active Members may vote, sit on the board of directors, chair committees, sit on ThrillerFest author panels, and take advantage of ITW’s many marketing and publicity programs. We also welcome applications for Associate Membership from readers, publishers, agents, reviewers, librarians, booksellers, experts such as criminologists and intelligence operatives, and anyone who is interested in and supports the thriller genre. Associate Members receive ITW’s official Bulletins, sit as members of committees, receive notice of and attend ITW functions, participate in ITW’s own online bulletin board, and are listed on ITW’s website in the Associate Members directory.

If you are already an ITW member, you may renew online. For all of the above, please click here.

Membership Classes There are two membership classes. All dues for them are tax deductible as a business expense for professionals in the industry.

• Active Member — $95 dues. This class is for thriller authors published by a commercial publishing house. Generally, these publishers pay an advance against royalties, edit books, create covers, have a regular means of distribution into bookstores and other places where books are ordinarily sold, and receive no financial payments from their authors. There are nuances involved in all of this, which is why ITW’s board of directors is constantly aware of changing industry trends and makes every effort to accommodate them while maintaining high professional standards for Active Member status. ITW maintains a list of recognized commercial publishers. If your publisher is not recognized by ITW and meets all ITW criteria for a commercial publisher, either you or it may apply to ITW for publisher recognition. Active Members also includes screenwriters and playwrights whose work is commercially produced. ITW has a higher standard than do some other author organizations for professional publication or production, so just because a writer is admitted to other associations does not guarantee acceptance into ITW. For a professional organization to be strong, it must have standards. All of us have met them, often after many years of work and sacrifice.
• Associate Member — $95 dues. Associate members are enthusiasts of the thriller genre who want to support the genre. We welcome readers, booksellers, publishers, agents, librarians, reviewers, journalists, aspiring writers, and all crime-fighting professionals who wish to help ITW grow. The membership benefits available to Associate members are that they may receive special ITW Bulletins, participate on the website and listserves, attend ITW functions, and sit as full members on committees.

Additional Membership Levels There are three additional membership levels in which authors and interested others may join at a higher financial level. All dues for these classes are tax deductible as a business expense for professionals in the industry. These dues are paid one year only. After that, dues revert to $95 a year.

• Patron — $5,000 dues. Open to Actives and Associates. The following perquisites for Patrons last ten years: Invitations to all ITW events, both private and public. Names posted on the ITW Website and listed on programs and brochures of all events whether or not in attendance. Names listed on ITW stationery.
• Sponsor — $1,000 dues. Open to Actives and Associates. The following perquisites for Sponsors last five years: Invitations to all ITW events, both private and public. Names posted on the ITW Website and listed on programs and brochures of events that you attend. If there’s room on ITW stationery, names will appear there, too, following only the names of Patrons.
• Supporter — $500 dues. Open to Actives and Associates. The following perquisites for Supporters last three years: Invitations to all ITW events, both private and public. Names are posted on the ITW Website and listed on programs and brochures of events that you attend. If there’s room on ITW stationery, names will appear there, too, following the names of Patrons and Sponsors.