Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary

The much maligned Harlequin Horizons (which authors and readers had begun to refer to as HarHo after what I presume to mean that some one is engaging in prostituting herself) has transformed into DellArte Press. It has essentially the same look and feel but there is no mention of Harlequin anywhere. Even the contact person [...]

This past fall RWA announced its new RITA / Golden Heart eligibility rules. I actually blogged about it when it was announced but apparently authors did not pay attention/read the rules/understand what they were reading.  
The new rules are thus:
Contest Rules Specific to the RITA
Books entered in the 2009 RITA contest must:
·          Have an original copyright [...]

eHarlequin.com has made the shortlist for the “Best Online Community” award called the Weblog Awards. It is the world’s largest weblog competition. Kudos to eHarlequin.com. Go vote for them.

The long list of 22 books have been released for the coveted "Romance Novel of the Year 2009" given out annually by the Romantic Novelists' Association.  156 books were submitted.  The 22 books will be whittled down to a short list on January 13, 2009.  A panel of 80 readers from all over the country, [...]

Sue Grimshaw, buyer for romances at Borders for the past 7 years, was awarded the 2008 Vivian Stephens Industry Award from RWA. This was announced a week or so ago when the RITA nominations were announced.
Grimshaw is a voracious reader of romance as well as general fiction and mystery. She devours a [...]

FICTION: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead Books)
DRAMA: August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
HISTORY: What Hath God Wrought by Daniel Walker Howe (Oxford University Press)
BIOGRAPHY: Eden’s Outcasts by John Matteson (W.W. Norton)
POETRY: Time and Materials by Robert Hass (Ecco/HarperCollins)
POETRY: Failure by Philip [...]

The Board approved the following 2008 Award Recipients:

RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award – Vicki Lewis Thompson (this used to be the Lifetime Achievement Award but was renamed to the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award)

RWA Emma Merritt Service Award – Linda Winstead Jones

RWA Service Award – Jill Limber, Nicole Burnham

RWA Vivian Stephens Industry Award [...]