Romance fiction is the largest selling genre in publishing, making up nearly twenty-percent of all book sales. This week that genre was celebrated at the Romance Writer’s of America Annual Conference. Part of the conference is the announcement of Awards of Excellence in Romance Fiction – the RITA award.
From the RWA press release:
(HOUSTON, TX) – Romance Writers of America (RWA), the trade association for published and aspiring romance fiction authors, announced the winners of the 2014 RITA® Awards on Saturday, July 26, at an awards ceremony at its 34th Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The RITA is the highest award of distinction in romance fiction and recognizes outstanding published romance novels and novellas.
Up to 2,000 romance novels and novellas from 9 different categories are judged each year in the RITA competition. After the first round of judging by fellow published romance authors, the competition narrows to approximately 100 finalists. Then, final round judges (published romance authors) select 9 RITA winners (one in each category) from amongst the finalists.
The 2014 RITA winners are:
Best First Book
The Sweet Spot by Laura DrakeContemporary Romance
Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O’KeefeErotic Romance
Claim Me by J. KennerHistorical Romance
No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLeanInspirational Romance
Five Days in Skye by Carla LaureanoParanormal Romance
The Firebird by Susanna KearsleyRomance Novella
Take Me, Cowboy by Jane PorterRomantic Suspense
Off the Edge by Carolyn CraneShort Contemporary Romance
Why Resist a Rebel? by Leah AshtonThe list of winners (complete with author and book photos) can be found on the RWA website at http://www.rwa.org.
