Pardon me please please if you lurk here and are nominated and I don’t know that you’re visiting, but I wanted to wish congratulations to SBTB Bitchery Readers and SBTB reviewed authors for their 2006 RITA nominations:
Stephanie Feagan, nominated for Best First Book: Show Her The Money.
Lani Diane Rich, nominated for [Best] Novel with Strong Romantic Elements: Ex and the Single Girl
Lisa Kleypas, who might not read this site but Candy and I dig her anyway, for Best Short Historical Romance: It Happened One Autumn
As I said, if you read and are nominated but I don’t know of your readership, please delurk and we’ll give you some mad props. And, above all, discuss, folks: what do you think of the Rita noms this year?
Aside from the ones you’ve mentioned, I was rather disappointed. But then, it’s not a thing about the best book published, but of the best book whose author decided to enter. So that takes out a lot of good books, I’d imagine.
basically, I’m happy the authors are happy, but as a reader, the award means absolutely nothing.
Completely vague and unsubstantiated impression, considering I’ve read ONE (!!!) book on the list: Lots of chick lit? I don’t read much chick lit (MJD, but that’s about it), but a lot of those titles sound chick-lit-y (c-lit-y?!). They need to get erotica and ebooks up there, PDQ. If they can have “inspirational” they can have erotica, baby.
I’m just annoyed that Inspriational gets a category and erotic is left out. AGAIN. It’s tired, this attitude.
Kudos to the nominees and I am glad inspirational gets a category, but I’m pretty damned sick and tired of the RWA snubbing erotic romance.
That said, it was very excellent to see one small pub, Red Sage, nominated and Linnea Sinclair’s name on the list, twice.
How are the nominations chosen? I think their list is…tired, uninspired, and boring. As a reader and prolific book customer, the nominations and results will probably not influence my reading. I read ALOT, but have only read a few of the nominations (Tara Jansen, J.R. Ward, Linnea Sinclair), and recognize a few more. SB readers could do much better…lots of excellent books NOT listed.
Sara F. has right, RITA needs an erotica division or they are going to continue to be just tired and boring.
How important/prestigious is it to be nominated or win? Does this make a big difference in terms of sales? Also, are these the main awards, or do other organizations have other awards strictly for romance?
I am relatively new to the romance genre, and I admit that I have not read any books on the list, nor have I heard of most of the authors. But I do agree that if there are awards, they should be more inclusive of all genres of romance, particularly since erotic romance seems to be one of the big subgenres in romance.
Like SarahF, I think the exclusion of erotica or romantica (however it is named) is unfortunate, and excludes some good stuff. If religious (read kisses only) books have a category of their own, it seems unbalanced to omit a category for hotter books.
Beyond that, I’m perplexed by the majority of the nominations and wonder what the criteria were for nomination—truly, does an author just need to fill out a form and pay a fee, like a beauty pageant? Anyone can show up? Or have the nominees already gone through a vetting process, and these are the books that have been culled from the herd?
And how is Kleypas’ It Happened One Autumn a Short Historical Romance?
What exactly is a Traditional Romance?
I think IHOA is short because it was under 95,000 words.
From what I understand, both Rita and Golden Heart nominations are a big deal: certain publication for the unpublished and continued contracts for the published.
I was totally coerced into submitting and spent an agonizing day on the phone with PC Cast (she submitted for Rita, 3rd year in a row) Friday waiting for that stupid call which never came. For the last couple years I’ve told PC after yet another no-show Rita nomination, not to get down, that she’s a fabulous writer and clearly in the same league as Carlos Santana who was dissed by the Grammies for, like, a kazillion years before he was finally recognized (and not for his best, 2nd best or even 3rd best work). This year she, anticipating her own Rita diss, consoled me using the Carlos Santana theory. We have since started a club for all really amazing published and unpublished authors who gets NO LOVE from Rita or Golden Heart. We call ourselves MCSL: Members of the Carlos Santana Lounge.
I am bitter and jealous and resentful and pissed and totally depressed.
Okay. I’m calm. Congratulations to all the nominees. *grits teeth and clenches fists*
I’m disappointed, as well, in the lack of an erotica category. And Inspirational? For whom? or is it who? Ugh. Damn my social science major sometimes… I think the Inspirational category could be done away with and those books be ‘judged’ on different merits, but that’s just me and my distaste for books I feel are preachy and targeted at a sliver of the reading public.
Hmmm, I just looked at the list again. I’ve actually heard of maybe six overall and that’s because they’re on the paranormal romance group I’m on. I haven’t read any of them. The only ones I’m sure I’m going to read are Maggie Shayne’s book, maybe Linnea Sinclair’s, and JR Ward. I admit awards look better on resumes than admissions that you just hang out, fantasize and write quality stuff. So that probably does sell books but not necessarily to me. Too fussy.
I agree, erotic romance deserves it’s own category.
Shaunee, I’m sorry you and PC didn’t get the call. But to be in the same company as Carlos Santana, way cool.
“I’m sorry you and PC didn’t get the call. But to be in the same company as Carlos Santana, way cool.”
Many thanks desertwillow for the kind words. Truth is, my relative fabulousness as compared to Carlos Santana is self-proclaimed. Could be that my writing has more in common with Pee Wee Herman (totally annoying and unnecessarily, uh, revealing), which is likely the reason I didn’t get The Call.
And don’t forget Susan Lucci! Although Santana is much cooler – when he finally won the dang Grammy, he got up and said, “Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh,” which is Hebrew for “holy holy holy.” Even when thanking God he’s damn cool.
Come on… Nobody really expected an erotic romance category did they? Did they?
As for Inspirational Romance, I like to think I’m kinda open minded about most things, and prior to observing Brenda Coulter’s online personality, I probably would have at least tried to read one, before dismissing the entire genre as a bag of shite, but on this occasion, in the interest of judging a whole genre based on the smug hypocrisy of one inspy writer, I can honestly say, it’ll be a cold day in hell before I pick one of them thar books up, regardless of whether or not it’s a RITA winner.
Unfair? Totally. Do I care? Not really.
I couldn’t give rats arse about previous RITA winners, or should I say, it wouldn’t influence me one way or the other.
With the exception of Inspy romance novels, I generally like to judge a book based on whether or not the author’s work impressed me personally. After all, I’m the best judge of whether or not a book appeals to me. End of.
Although I see inherent problems with the way the Rita was selected, I’m still happy to see some good Aussie category writers like Bron Jameson in the list. And very happy for Karen Schwartz and Christine Diem a couple of Oz writing mates in the GH.
Maybe I’m just biased against the inspirational ones because they’re not my cup of tea. If I find one I truly enjoy from start to finish, I’ll likely eat my words and say so, lol.
Like the Oscars- we’re never going to agree on the nominations or the winners. For me- anything that celebrates books and writers is a good thing. Writing is hard- an excuse for a party even better, debating the merits of various books to the wee hours- priceless….
There were some erotic romance nominations. In the best novella finalists there was a story from one of the Secrets books and (I think) Bite by Vickie Taylor is? (could be wrong with that).
There really should be a separate category though.
Okay maybe not the book by Vickie Taylor, but the book in the Secrets anthology is definitely erotic romance.
Wow! Thanks, Sarah! I’m still freaking out – and probably will be until the awards in Atlanta, this summer. Maybe because I was one of those who took a thousand years to sell my first book, it feels very surreal.
Since I’m on the board of RWA this year, I got to call a list of finalists – the Golden Heart Mainstream category. That was awesome. I don’t think I had anyone actually squeal, but it was still a hoot.
Maybe SBTB should start a RITA That Should Be contest for erotica.
Hello! I’m gonna take as much of this by points as I can…
1. Thanks, Sarah, for the shout out! I’m excited to be nominated again. Woo hoo!
2. Yes, some people were robbed. Although I haven’t read PC Cast yet, I’ve heard nothing but lovely, lovely things about her, her covers are FAB, and she’s on my list for my next bookstore visit. But, given her genre, I’m not surprised she got robbed. I have a good friend, CJ Barry, who is possibly one of the most fabulous writers alive and she got robbed YET AGAIN with no nomination – she writes sci-fi/romance. Read her. You’ll LOVE her.
3. How it works: You pay a small fee to cover the organizational costs, you submit your books and then you drink lots to forget that you submitted. RWA members volunteer to judge (published authors for the RITAs, and I think both published and unpublished can judge the Golden Hearts.) The highest scores get nominated, then go to a second round, also judged by published authors in RWA. It’s like the Academy – you’re judged by your peers. So it means a lot there. And it’s not a guarantee to publication for the GH, but it certainly doesn’t hurt at all, and many GH winners do go on to get published. I’d say it increases your chances of being seen by the right people a great deal, and leave it at that.
4. All I have to say about Inspirational is that great writers exist in every genre. I think the reason PC and CJ got snubbed is because foolish people pre-judged them based on genre, and all I have to say is – it’s their loss. Don’t let that happen to you. You could miss out on some really great stuff.
5. I don’t like to talk about RWA politics, because I’d be talking out of my butt since I don’t understand much about it, but I have to say, I’m definitely under the impression that there’s a prejudice against erotica – with the graphical standards brou-ha-ha earlier, and the “let’s define romance” thing later and… I don’t know. But I think there needs to be an erotica/romantica chapter; I think there’s enough of a voice out there for those writers to stand up and be heard. It was the same thing with chick lit a while back. As a matter of fact, I was shocked last year by my nomination, and even moreso when I won. Totally blindsided me. So, there’s hope. Get that chapter started and make your voices heard!
Okay. That’s it. And yes – go out and read Maggie Shayne all of you! She deserves every nom and win she gets!
Thanks again!
Lani
Also, are these the main awards, or do other organizations have other awards strictly for romance?
These are the biggies, but there are roughly 656,987 annual contests for the romance genre. Many state RWA chapters hold contests, along with the major mags, etc. If you win one, I guess you can put “Award-winning Author” in front of your name on your book cover.
I’m ambivalent as to the value of these contests to authors, especially since they cost a fortune to enter (not just the fee, but the books and the shipping). But if nothing else, you get your book in the hands of people who are required to read it. If they like it, they’ll tell others, and that’s valuable word-of-mouth.
I actually saw one contest where the entry fee was $25, and the first prize was…$25.
Shaunee said: From what I understand, both Rita and Golden Heart nominations are a big deal: certain publication for the unpublished and continued contracts for the published.
Earlier this year, I did some informal research on how many authors who final in the Golden Heart go on to sell within the next year or so, and the numbers were much lower than I expected. My impression is that finalists in Short Contemporary tend to do the best. The results for Paranormal were discouraging, to say the least. That’s not to say that a GH final is meaningless—obviously, that’s not the case—but I don’t think it’s the magic bullet I once assumed it was.
In my opinion, the GH/Rita categories are a mess. It sorta reminds me of what happens when too many features are tacked on to software products. It may seem like a good idea at the time, but later you realize you’ve created a Frankenstein. Some of the new categories I’ve heard suggested could very well be good ideas, but to add them on top of what’s already there would be a mistake. I believe a complete overhaul is in order.
Regarding the Paranormal category in particular, authors of fantasy and science fiction are often at a disadvantage in RWA contests. Someone who signs up to judge Paranormal may be more familiar with vampires or time travel or witches or werewolves or any of the myriad other things lumped into that category. Worst case, the judge may actively dislike traditional fantasy and science fiction, and I do know people who’ve received contest critiques to that effect.
Lani said: I think the reason PC and CJ got snubbed is because foolish people pre-judged them based on genre.
With the Ritas, I always wonder if someone whose books I’ve enjoyed just didn’t enter. I share your disappointment that CJ’s and PC’s books didn’t make the finals, and there are several others I thought would’ve made it, too. IIRC, Gail Dayton, Susan Carroll, Anne Kelleher, and Sarah Zettel all had 2005-copyrighted books. I have no idea if they entered or not.
Maybe the Paranormal category is too broad? I don’t know.
The erotic romance chapter of RWA is Passionate Ink. I tried to put the link here but it wouldn’t let me. But if you google you should get the site.
I had only heard of three of the books in the list of nominations and had only read one. So you pay to get consideration, then maybe you get nominated? Do awards in any other field of media work like that? It seems very strange to me. I adore PC Cast and cannot believe they would overlook her. And I am also disappointed at the lack of an erotic category. RWA is truly out of step with the book buying public.
I feel much less snubbed after reading here that some of “You like me! You really like me!” (hee hee) And I adore CJ Barry. Actually I do believe it was last year that I was sitting beside her at the Prism awards where we both won in our categories. Sure, the Ritas are cool, and I congratulate the nominees (some truly excellent authors did final), but for fantasy/s-f The Award to win from an RWA affiliate is the Prism. It’s judged exclusively by members of the RWA’s Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Chapter. So for us it’s wonderful to be chosen from those who actually read and enjoy our genre within a genre. Plus, the trophy is a totally kick ass crystal pyramid. Totally. Hordes of us lust after them. I don’t mind admitting I want another and another and…
I do agree about how fucked up it is that there can be an inspirational category, but nothing specific for erotica. Doesn’t feel balanced.
Shaunee – you and your Santana analogy crack me up baby.
The way the RITAs work is, you send in copies of your books (some publishers will provide you with free copies for this purpose), pay an entry fee, and then a panel of judges reads the entries and scores them. The ones with the highest scores are finalists (that’s the list the SB’s linked to). I think there are only 35 initial entries allowed in each category.
I have no idea why some categories have more finalists than others. Can anyone shed some light on this? My guess is that a minimum score was required to make the final ballot and some categories got more high scorers than others.
RWA is truly out of step with the book buying public.
Which makes the Grammy comparison even more appropriate.
PC – you know CJ? She’s one of my best friends. Find me in Atlanta, please! I’ll be in the bar…
Keziah – they finally approved the erotica chapter? I thought that was held up. SO glad I was wrong. I’ll look you guys up! I don’t write erotica, but if RWA is going to take your dues money, I think you should be heard. Congrats!
As for how the RITAs are done… I don’t know. The entry fee isn’t high, so it’s not like you pay for consideration. But it’s also not like TV, movies or music, which takes two minutes to two hours for a judge to judge. The judges have to get the books, which RWA ships out. So the entry fee covers Fedex costs, basically. And each judge has to devote hours of their time to each entry. Depending on how many spare hours they have in the day and how fast they read, it’s a big commitment. So that limits how many people can judge a particular category – there are just too many books and not enough time for the whole RWA to be able to vote – you have to go with a sampling. And this way, books that aren’t distributed as widely still have a fighting chance. While the system maybe isn’t perfect, I can’t think of a better one.
The categories, however, could use some tweaking, I think. Not just the erotica thing, not just the paranormal umbrella not accurately covering what comes in, but the whole thing needs a rehaul. Single title is anything that’s single title, but everything else gets separated by genre, so single title is an even greater crapshoot because people who write vastly different things are in competition. Oh, and then there’s short historical and long historical – um, who cares? I think they should be divvied out – with the exception of Best First Book, which I think is a fun and exciting distinction for new writers – by genre, and that’s it. Historical, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Mystery, Erotica, Comedy, Mainstream with Romantic Elements, Inspirational – whatever. PC, what would you be? Mystical Realism? Whatever. A category for PC. 😉 But right now, it’s such a hodge podge and it makes no sense. And people like PC and CJ not getting the big-stage love is just wrong. Not to dis the Prisms, AT ALL, but y’all need thousands of people hearing your name.
So… that’s my piece. With the caveat that often I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, which is why I try not to get into these conversations, but you people are too interesting. Cut it out. 😉
Wow, it’s so weird that Passionate Ink ended up on our Blacklist, because I just checked, and it’s NOWHERE IN OUR ACTUAL BLACKLIST. I had to put it in our “White List” to get the link to show up.
Screwy, is what it is.
Uh, anyway, here’s the link to the Passionate Ink chapter to the RWA: http://www.passionateink.org
The limit for entries is 1,000 in Rita and 1,000 in Golden Heart, both of which were reached this year, leaving some authors out of the contest. It’s a first come, first served scenario, so everyone is urged to get their entries in as soon as possible. It would be great to increase the amount of entries, but the judging pool remains too small. Some people choose not to judge, whether because of time contraints, deadlines, life, whatever reason.
There is no limit per category. However, if there aren’t enough entries in a category, it doesn’t make for the year and the author has the choice of selecting another category, or getting a refund of the entry fee.
The contests are due for an overhaul – no doubt about it. I foresee one in the future, and I hope every RWA member will take the opportunity, when it’s presented, to voice his/her opinions.
With the way the categories are now, things are weighted heavily toward contemporary. Maybe it’s just that the categories haven’t evolved quickly enough to reflect the market, which would explain why erotic romance doesn’t have one yet
and
why all paranormal-ish books are in the same huge bucket.
Lani – I’ve just met CJ briefly, but I love her work. Hey! Amazing coincendence! I’LL be at the bar in Atlanta, too. Meet you there. Sarah? Candy? You too? Huh? Come on!
On one of my writers’ loops they were just discussing the fucked-up-ness (I’m paraphrasing) of the Rita categories and how they need a major overhaul. Actually, with how fluid our genre is it only seems wise to automatically look at category issues quite often. I know long and short contemp and long and short historical have caused lots of author, as well as judge, confusion. I would love to see s-f/fantasy pulled out of paranormal and made its own category, which is one reason I entered Brighid’s Quest in the romantic elements but not a romance category (you see how well that plan worked out).
But none of this category discussion should take away from those who have finaled this year. Good writing is good writing – period. And there are several examples of it in the finalist list.
Plus, those of us who didn’t final can drink too damn much that night and not worry about starving our way into that great black beaded skirt we were planning on wearing if our ass wasn’t so big…
I can speak to the Golden Heart myth of instant sales upon finaling. I finaled the first time in 1996, and not again until 2003. Those seven years in between, I wrote, entered, didn’t final. Repeat. Got an agent – lost an agent. Didn’t sell. I thought for sure the 2003 final was gonna be it. Uh, no. I was despondent when every query I sent out came winging back in record time. That’s when I decided to write whatever the hell I wanted, and screw it. Turned out to be the book that sold. It finaled in ‘04, but by then, I had an agent, and it was almost sold – so the GH didn’t help there, either.
It was great for the ego, it looked nice on query letters, and I met my best writing buddies in the finaling class of ‘03 – but the GH didn’t make an instant sale for me.
On the other hand, a lucky few get bought by a judging editor.
Bottom line – it’s a crap shoot, just like the rest of this insane business. Right place, right time, and all that.
I won a Golden Heart last year, and let me tell you, the experience totally ROCKS! Even if I never sell (and I haven’t yet) it was so worth the $75 crap shoot. Yes, I’m happy to pay for one moment of recognition after years spent locked in the cellar toiling for that evil bitch, Oblivion.
It’s a crapshoot. It is. I entered for three years without finaling, one year with the very same manuscript that won. This year I entered two new books and didn’t final. But I can’t be greedy. (Or can I?) It was a bonding experience (Hallooo, Tonda!), and a brief moment of encouragement in an unencouraging business.
We writers. . . we are like the pitiful girl who wants that guy so bad. . . and we will come running for that 2 a.m. booty call, even though that damn publisher (um, guy) never called us after the last time we went down on him. All we need is a pat on the back (or head) every decade or so. It’s enough to keep us toiling away, praying, “Please, please, please call me.”
Now if I could only get people in my hometown to ask what the GH pendant is when I wear it to the grocery store. *sigh*
I haven’t read too many of these, but Poison Study is a really good book-great worldbuilding,, really believable characters…. a really great read. Going back to lurking again..
I agree that the entire Rita award system needs to be redone, categories and all.
BUT…
I don’t like the idea of an erotic romance category. Don’t get me wrong; I WRITE erotic romance! I just don’t think it should be ghettoized into its own neat little category.
After all, who decides what constitutes an erotic romance? Would there be certain criteria? A specific count of sex scenes it has to meet? Certain words it has to use? Certain publishers it has to come from?
The paranormal and even inspirational categories make more sense to me, because those are easily discernible. Got vamps? Paranormal. Got God (big g, not plural)? Inspirational.
But you can have an “erotic” romance that’s also a paranormal, also a historical, also a contemporary (and I’d love to read an erotic inspirational—someone needs to write one). How do you decide which category your book goes into?
And more importantly, doesn’t it make more SENSE for your book to go up against other paranormal (or historical, or contemporary, etc.) books, regardless of how much sex they do or don’t have? Shouldn’t your book compete with others in its own subgenre?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my book to win a category determined just by its sizzle rating.
PC – Meet you there! And Candy and Sarah – you must come!
Victoria – congrats on the GH!!! Those necklaces are lovely. And don’t put yourself down. You’re not the girl who will jump at any recognition – you’re the girl everyone saw with all the others in the room. Congrats!
Um… addendum. Victoria – you’re the girl everyone saw EVEN with all the other ones in the room. Meaning, they saw YOU when the room was filled with other pretty girls. Not that you were just one of many.
Good God. Don’t post in the morning. I know this rule. And yet? Yargh.
“We writers. . . we are like the pitiful girl who wants that guy so bad. . . and we will come running for that 2 a.m. booty call, even though that damn publisher (um, guy) never called us after the last time we went down on him. All we need is a pat on the back (or head) every decade or so. It’s enough to keep us toiling away, praying, “Please, please, please call me.â€
Too painfully perfect a description for what I went through last Friday waiting for that wretched call!! Even though my sane-girl instincts refuse to allow me anywhere near that guy (contest) ever again, we all know that all the minute we are reminded that he exists, we’ll be back on our knees again at 2 a.m.
‘K, it’s only 8 in the morning, but suddenly I’m in the throes of a major depression.
Oh, before I slit my wrists, I wanted to 2nd my vote for Smart Bitches et al to meet up at the bar in Atlanta this year. Seriously, do you know what kind of fun we could have? Stupid, college, nasty, drunk, indiscriminate sex with the DJ kind, that’s what. C’mon, you don’t want to miss that.