Records for Romance

by Daisy Maryles, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 8/2/2006

A few records were broken at the 26th annual National Conference of Romance Writers of America held in Atlanta last week. It was RWA’s largest attendance ever with 2,152 attendees, topping the previous high of 2,138 set in New York in 2003. For the past 15 years, the conference opens with a literacy autographing evening, featuring more than 400 authors. Open to the public, this year’s event, too, hit an all-time high with more than $64,000 ($64,272.67 to be exact) raised for literacy, bringing RWA’s contribution over the years to more than $250,000.  

Ending the four-day conference is a gala Saturday evening awards extravaganza (this year hosted by Nora Roberts) with Golden Hearts Awards presented in 10 categories to the best manuscripts (judged by published romance writers) and the Rita Awards to the best published titles in 13 categories. Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Match Me If You Can, Ain’t She Sweet, etc.,) was presented RWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

RITA winners included: For Best Long Contemporary Romance, Worth Every Risk by Dianna Love Snell (Silhouette); for Best Paranormal Romance, Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair (Bantam); for Best Inspirational Romance, Heavens to Betsy by Beth Pattillo (WaterBrook); for Best First Book Show Her the Money by Stephanie Feagan (Silhouette); for Best Long Historical Romance, The Devil To Pay by Liz Carlyle (Pocket Books); for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements, Lady Luck’s Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel (Ballantine); for Best Romantic Suspense, Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb (Penguin Putnam); and for Best Contemporary Single Title, Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs (MIRA Books).