Since 1982, Romance Writers of America has presented the annual RITA awards, considered the romance industry’s most prestigious prize. However, as controversy rocked the organization beginning in late 2019, both judges and entrants refused to participate, and the awards ceremony was canceled for 2020. Now, in yet another twist, RWA’s leadership has decided to abandon that award and launch a new one named the Vivian, after RWA founder Vivian Stephens.
The RITAs have been long dominated by white authors and characters, with black authors representing less than 0.5 percent of RITA finalists since its inception. Retiring an award that’s been accused of racist outcomes might be the first step in a new future for the RWA, and fortunately it appears that systemic judging problems will be directly addressed. The RWA stated that the Vivian would have “a clear rubric to enhance and streamline scoring guidelines in addition to judge training that will allow for more standardized judging.” A more “sophisticated” matching process to ensure all books go to judges versed in the relevant subgenre has also been promised. Read RWA’s official announcement. While it will take more than a newly named award to change the organization’s long-standing problems, the romance community’s reception to this change has so far been cautious optimism.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
