Romance Writers of America (RWA) is a group in the United States that helps writers who focus on writing romance stories. It was started in 1980. The group's goal is to help these writers with their careers by connecting them, supporting their goals, and letting more people know about the romance book genre. Books that are considered must focus on how a romantic relationship grows between two people and must end with a happy outcome. People who have finished writing a book but have not yet published it can join the group, along with those who have already published their work.
Organization
Authors can join the RWA if they are working on writing romance novels. According to the RWA, the main story in a romance novel must focus on two characters who fall in love and work to build a relationship. The conflict and climax of the story must connect to this theme of developing a romantic relationship. Subplots in the story may involve other characters or events that are not directly about the main characters’ love story. Additionally, a romance novel must end with a conclusion that feels emotionally satisfying and hopeful.
Authors are grouped into two categories: PRO and PAN. The PRO network includes authors who have finished writing a book but have not yet published it. PRO members can access online workshops and guides about publishing. PAN is the Published Author Network. About 2,000 authors qualify for PAN. These authors have had their books printed and have earned a specific amount of money from sales or advances. Authors who use vanity publishers that do not provide editing or promotion help are not eligible for PAN.
Members can also join local or online RWA chapters. These groups allow writers to meet, share feedback, and improve their writing skills. Through this practice, "romance writers are the only authors who train their own competition and pride themselves on sharing what they know."
Industry professionals and aspiring authors who have not yet finished writing a book can join as non-voting associate members. Booksellers and librarians can join as non-voting affiliate members.
All members receive the RWA’s magazine, the Romance Writer Report.
Annual conference
Every summer, the RWA holds a national conference. In 2007, about 1,900 members attended the conference in Dallas, Texas. They took part in workshops and listened to lectures for both published and unpublished authors. The conference began with Librarian's Day, and in 2007, more than 150 librarians attended presentations by popular romance authors, including Jayne Ann Krentz, Suzanne Brockmann, Nora Roberts, Shana Abe, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Each year, some workshops focus on business topics, such as how to pitch a novel or write for multiple publishers. Other workshops focus on creative activities, like using swords and sword fights in stories, learning firefighter special words, or choosing cover art for books. The conference includes a literacy signing, where the public can meet nearly 500 authors and get autographs. In 2007, the event raised almost $60,000 for literacy charities. The RWA provides scholarships for members to attend the national conference. These scholarships help pay for travel, lodging, and registration fees.
Awards
The RWA holds an awards ceremony during its annual conference.
In 1982, the RWA gave its first award, the Golden Medallion, in four categories. The number of categories increased to six in 1983, eight by 1989, and eventually reached twelve.
For many years, the RWA also recognized unpublished authors with the Golden Heart Award. A group of RWA members judged the first round of entries. One hundred manuscripts were selected as finalists. These finalists were then judged by editors from romance publishing companies. About 30% of Golden Heart finalists had their work accepted by print publishers. The award itself is a gold medallion shaped like a heart.
In 1990, the Golden Medallion was replaced with the RITA Award. Named after the RWA’s first president, Rita Clay Estrada, the award recognizes excellence in one of 12 categories of romantic fiction. Authors and editors submit published works for consideration near the end of the year. A few months later, finalists are announced. Winners receive a statuette.
Authors who have won at least three RITA Awards in the same category of romance, such as Long Contemporary Romance or Romantic Suspense, are inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame. The first person inducted was Nora Roberts. Other authors honored include Jo Beverley, Julia Quinn, Catherine Tinley, and Jennifer Greene.
Because of concerns about not enough diversity among RITA winners, the RITA Award was replaced in 2021 with the Vivian Award.
History
The Romance Writers of America was started in 1980 in Houston, Texas, by romance editor Vivian Stephens and 37 romance authors, including Rita Clay Estrada and Parris Afton Bonds, who were the first president and vice president. According to the organization’s rules, its purpose is to “help career-focused romance writers by connecting them, supporting their interests, and increasing public awareness of the romance genre.”
The romance industry grew quickly in the 1980s, and the RWA expanded rapidly. By 2000, the RWA had an operating budget of over $1 million, the largest among professional genre writers’ groups. By 2007, the RWA had more than 9,000 members and over 150 chapters. These chapters include groups based on location and special-interest online groups focused on themes like medical romance. As the RWA grew, it faced challenges in defining its main purpose, such as whether it was a social group or a professional network. There were also discussions about whether the group should include published or unpublished authors and which types of published authors should be part of the RWA.
Part of the RWA’s mission is to support authors. The RWA helped Harlequin books allow writers to own their own pen names and register copyrights for their work. Before this, authors had to give up their pen names if they changed publishing companies, making it harder for fans to find their work. The RWA has also helped members address problems with technology platforms.
Some romance authors and readers believe the genre has certain rules, such as requiring the main characters to meet early in the story or avoiding themes like infidelity. Debates have occurred about the need for happy endings or the inclusion of same-sex relationships in romance stories. Some readers accept stories without happy endings if the focus is on the love between two main characters, like in Romeo and Juliet. Others argue the genre should only include heterosexual relationships. While most romance novels follow stricter rules, many widely accepted romance books do not. The RWA and publishers define romance as focusing on a developing romantic relationship and an optimistic ending.
The RWA has faced challenges with diversity and inclusion. In 2019, over 80% of its members were white, compared to about 61% of the U.S. population. The group resisted including romance novels about same-sex relationships for a long time. In 2005, a poll asked members if the RWA should define romance as between a man and a woman. Nora Roberts, a famous author, protested the question. The then-president of the board said she was worried “the lesbians were going to take over” the RWA. This caused a strong reaction, and the discussion was dropped.
Another controversy happened in 2015 when Kate Breslin, a finalist for the Best Inspirational Romance RITA award, faced accusations of antisemitism. Her novel’s hero was a Nazi concentration camp commander, and the heroine was a Jewish prisoner who later converted to Christianity. At the same conference, an editor admitted the publisher did not buy books by non-white authors or featuring non-white characters, instead placing them in a different imprint. The RWA began focusing more on diversity, which led to backlash from some white members. In 2017, Linda Howard, a founding RWA member, wrote on an internal forum that “Diversity for the sake of diversity is discrimination.” This caused a strong reaction, and Howard left the organization.
Many authors pointed to the RITA awards as evidence that the RWA did not take diversity seriously. Anyone could pay to nominate their books for the RITA awards. Entrants could then vote on other nominees. Judges were not trained to avoid bias or score fairly. An analysis of 18 years of RITA finalists and winners showed that less than 0.5% of finalists were Black authors, and no Black woman had ever won. A reviewer found that white authors often created stories with white, cisgender, heterosexual characters, even in books set in different times or with fictional creatures like vampires.
In 2018, several highly praised books by authors of color were not RITA finalists. Some authors, like Beverly Jenkins and Helen Hoang, refused to enter their books. Others entered but did not score high enough. At the annual conference, Suzanne Brockmann, a Lifetime Achievement Award winner, spoke against white supremacy in the RWA and the industry. To address the controversy, the RWA changed contest rules, such as tracking judges’ scores to detect bias and requiring some judges to be librarians, booksellers, or people of color or queer individuals. In 2019, three women of color were among the 80 RITA finalists. Alyssa Cole, whose book was named a New York Times notable book, was not a finalist. Many authors debated whether the RITA awards truly reflected excellence in the industry. The RWA apologized to members of color and LGBTQ+ members for making them feel unwanted. In 2019, two Black women and one South Asian woman won RITA awards.
In August 2019, authors discussed racism and gatekeeping in the romance publishing industry on Twitter. Courtney Milan, a Chinese-American author, criticized a book by an editor for being racist. Milan was then suspended by the RWA for one year and banned from leadership. After questions about the process, the punishment was rescinded. Eight women of color on the RWA board resigned, as did the president. Many authors and publishers criticized the RWA’s handling of diversity issues. The RITA awards were canceled after judges resigned and hundreds of authors withdrew their books. Major publishers announced they would not attend or support the RWA conference.
The Cultural, Interracial, and Multicultural Special Interest Chapter of the RWA hosted a…