For the last month I’ve been drafting a blog post about the organization called Romance Writers of America. I keep having to add new stuff. So I’ll get this out there now.
A month ago I would have told you “The RWA (Romance Writers of America) is a storied professional organization with a lot of clout in the romance publishing industry”.
For anyone rolling their eyes, just stop. The romance publishing industry brings in around a billion dollars a year, and it’s the lucrative backbone of many publishing houses.
There are probably more self-made millionaire romance authors than in any other fiction genre.
Yes, the RWA has hosted career-boosting contests and conferences, helped with legal advice in the case of plagiarism and other problems, and offered great networking opportunities for romance and romance-adjacent authors.
The group at national and local levels had on paper a platform about diversity: “Support for diversity, inclusivity and equity and its commitment to provide an open environment for all members.”
The RWA was also a problematic clique largely defaulting to the interests of older, middle-class-to-wealthy white heterosexual conservative Christian women…the ones who tend to have support systems allowing them to afford writing time in the first place.
The group has been accused at various and multiple times of homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, racism, religious bias, and a rightwing bent just a little more subtle than SFF’s Sad Puppies or Donnie Trump’s ‘Very Fine’ Deplorables.
The RWA *was* visibly biased for decades against authors of color, non-Christian authors, queer authors, and erotic romance authors. The Nice White Ladies who took over its core were not against any of ‘those’ people publishing anywhere else, just against those authors joining RWA in any professional or operational capacity.
I am not and never have been an RWA member, but I do write romance-adjacent stuff. I’ve dealt with the bias of some RWA members. This hits close to my home and heart.
Briefly, two interlocking stories:
The RWA censured Courtney Milan, an author of color, for calling out another (white) author’s very-problematic romance novel’s treatment of a Chinese protagonist.
What actually happened first: some alert romance writers noticed that a couple of prominent romance authors / editors / publishers had social media posts supporting Donald Trump and white supremacist views. This prompted folks to take a closer look at the problematic professionals’ early and current work.
This is all over Twitter right now, but here’s a good place to start reading. Milan also called out a highly-placed romance professional industry book buyer, for possibly sidelining and never supporting diverse authors while working as a buyer for major bookstores.
Here’s a more recent and thorough article.
It’s become a vast mess because apparently a lot of *other* complaints about racism, homophobia, etc were submitted to the RWA ethics board over the years and went nowhere. RWA members recently voted in several very talented and strong-willed POC and LGBTQIA authors into board positions, a move that many in the public hoped meant a new era for the association as a whole.
But most of those board members were not involved in, or informed of, the ethics board’s decision re: Milan. Many of them have resigned over the last month, fearing that their placement was window dressing to lure author dues and public goodwill without changing any central policies.
Secondly, people have been wondering about the RWA’s apparently preferential treatment of Dreamspinner Press, the M/M erotic romance publisher accused of withholding some royalty monies for over a year (likely due to financial mismanagement of author earnings.)
In several other cases of predatory publishers and pesky plagiarists, the RWA has acted swiftly to condemn those actions and bring the bad actors to industry scrutiny.
Not with Dreamspinner. A lot of LGBTQIA and allied authors are now asking why a high-ranking RWA board member, a gay author and guiding star of the RWA’s main LGBTQIA chapter, would (1) have at least two books published with Dreamspinner during this year of conflict, (2) not make a public statement or even recusal about Dreamspinner’s lack of payment to so many authors, and (3) apparently collided with Dreamspinner to create a fake book he used to qualify for his RWA governing post.
These authors are wondering if he’s getting his royalties just fine, since he’s apparently a valuable figurehead. I can understand his silence on both matters, especially if and when the legal folks start to get involved.
But it’s really bad optics at a time when the RWA needs the public approval of its POC and LGBTQIA writers (and potential members).
It affects me only by tangent. I write too many het and bi characters to fit Dreamspinner’s gay-only mandate.
I write fantasy and space opera with some LGBTQIA characters in acceptant cultures.
I may not always play the erotic romance card, but I want sex scenes as a story option.
I attended a couple of local RWA meetings, back in 2011 & 2012. I’d just had MORO’S PRICE contracted by Loose Id (because Tor and Del Rey were not taking Big Explicit Gay Space Opera at that time, so I didn’t even query that book to Big Five publishers).
Most RWA people were friendly and supportive, but I did get the feeling that M/M & F/F romance were not that welcome at author events.
I was told by a local RWA authority that I’d be welcome, but that I shouldn’t lead with my gay books.
I also noticed that a fairly large proportion of members (or at least the most vocal, active, and connected ones) were also strong online media supporters of Tea Party, Birther, & other conservative viewpoints.
I quietly backed off and didn’t join. That was the end of my interaction with the local RWA.
What is happening now is sad and predictable. Whitewashed articles are popping up to support the RWA’s more overt discrimination, with excuses about Cancel Culture and freedom of speech.
Valid points, which are also being played out in other publishing genres right now.
Local RWA chapters are imploding.
The RITAs, the romance industry’s highest professional award will not be held this year. Too many judges and authors pulled out of the contest.
The RWA National convention itself is at risk, since many publishers, agents, and high profile authors will not be attending this year (and have ended their memberships). This exposes the organization to massive cancellation fees from the hotel.
The RWA was on paper a more democratic organization than many similar genre groups. Dues were steep (around $150 a year) but that gave unpublished romance authors access to professional critiques, workshopping, and literary contests that could make their career.
Comparable science-fiction & fantasy pro memberships are based on multiple short story sales to high-paying qualifying markets or book sales over $3000…beyond reach of many small-press or self-pub authors.
Will the RWA recover, or will something better rise from its wreckage?
I’m being a coward and giving the disaster time to settle, before I look at it as a career tool.
From what I’ve seen, a lot of the same people are still in power at local chapters. Online niche chapters that I might have wanted to join are equally problematic, because they were founded and are still run by people who 1) were involved in the bad behavior or 2) got taken in by it.
What happened in the RWA is shocking but not all that sure, once you learn the back story.