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Wanted: Romance lovers seeking like-minded individuals for fun, learning, and a heck of a good time.
Welcome to the Toronto Romance Writers (TRW), the home for romantic fiction lovers in Toronto. Whether you’re a seasoned professional, are working on your first chapter, or simply love discussing and analyzing romantic fiction, TRW is for you. We embrace all romance writers and readers, and are committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and definitely fun place for all.
We have members from Toronto and the surrounding area, including northern and southern Ontario and even across Canada. Our roster of published members includes New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors.
Interested in joining TRW? Regardless of where you are in your career—just starting your first book, or already published—TRW has something for everyone. Please join us for workshops, discussion, support, advice, feedback, or simply a chance to get away from your computer. We’d love to meet you!
We welcome guests at most of our monthly meetings. Please see our Events listing and review our Guest Policy .
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Board elections will happen in June, and new coordinator and VP officer positions are currently being recruited for. Check our our Volunteer Page here .
Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada
Enhancing the craft and art of writing, and advancing the careers of our authors.
Our AGM is Sunday, April 2, at 2:00 pm, online.
The business meeting will be followed by a publishing panel discussion, “Polishing Your Manuscript,” featuring local editor/writers:
Anne Louise O’Connell: https://www.ocpublishing.ca/ Georgia Atkin: https://georgiaatkin.com/ Molly Rookwood: https://www.rookwoodediting.com/ Moderated by Tim Covell: https://somewhatgrumpypress.com/
We will be electing a new Vice-President and Secretary for a two-year term—for the first year you’ll be working alongside the existing President and Treasurer. You don’t need to be a published author or long-standing member to hold these positions. New members and new ideas are always welcome.
Non-members are welcome to attend, but must contact us in advance.
The Association of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada is a Nova Scotia registered society, dedicated to enhancing the craft and art of romance writing, and advancing the careers of our members . RWAC offers a supportive environment for writers at all stages of their careers, and supports diversity. Our members and books encompass an array of sexual orientations, identities, and racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada began in 2000 as a chapter of Romance Writers of America . Spearheaded by RWAC’s founding president, Victoria LeBlanc, the chapter consisted of two published authors and more than a few writers who had yet to complete their first novel. In 2020, RWAC became an independent organization, and is no longer associated with RWA. Several RWAC members are also members of RWA, the Writer’s Federation of Nova Scotia , and other writing organizations. The RWAC holds meetings several times a year, on Sunday afternoons. At present, meetings are online only. A meeting typically covers association business, news from members, and a short workshop or presentation. Other activities include a summer day-long workshop, weekday evening drop-in help chat sessions, a writing retreat, and a year-end potluck. There is an annual membership fee, and some activities have an additional charge. See the calendar for details.
Officers of RWAC serve for two years, on staggered terms.
President – Deborah Hale 2022-2023
Vice President – Tim Covell 2021-2023
Treasurer – Kayleigh Malcom 2022-2024
Secretary – Jaime Lynn Hart 2021-2023
For information about our members and their work, please see Our Members . If you are interested in becoming a member, please Contact Us . View our privacy policy.
From 2013 through 2015, members wrote over 150 blogs for an earlier version of this site. Topics include author interviews and the business and craft of writing. Explore them in the Blog Archive .
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Alberta Romance Writers
Learn The Craft of Writing
The Alberta Romance Writers’ Association (ARWA) is a non-profit society dedicated to helping our members learn the craft of writing in an open and non-ju
Joining arwa registration for the 2022-2023 arwa membership is currently open. new members are accepted anytime during the year. the program year begins in sept, our authors books, new releases from arwa writers other novels from arwa writers treasures along the fenceline, programming workshops and meetings, all sessions are for members and registered guests (please email us to register) and are held at st mark’s lodge 2612 14a street sw, calgary, ab t2t 3x7. st, welcome to alberta romance writer’s association, mission statement.
The purpose of the Alberta Romance Writers’ Association is to promote excellence in romance fiction writing and to provide support for its members through professional development. The Association evolved in 1987 from a six‑week workshop co-sponsored by Alberta Culture, Film and Literary Arts and the Calgary Public Library. In September of 1989, the Association was incorporated under the Societies Act of Alberta as a nonprofit organization . The objectives of the Association have been proven by the number of professional writing careers that have been launched since its inception.
We are an Independent body of writers not affiliated with any other organisation.
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Why the implosion of the Romance Writers of America matters
This article was published more than 3 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.
The Romance Writers of America (RWA) – the world’s leading guild of romance writers – has effectively imploded, and the future of the organization and its values are at stake, along with its major role across the North American publishing industry.
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Writer Courtney Milan has been at the centre of controversy among the members of the Romance Writers of America. The Canadian Press
A rapid number of events, starting with the censure of Asian-American bestselling author Courtney Milan, have occurred involving the international industry organization over the past three weeks, culminating in the resignations of both its president, Damon Suede, and its executive director, Carol Ritter, on Thursday. “It’s this ugly, raw, wound that’s surfacing, and on the whole, people are pretty upset,” Calgary RWA chapter president Emily Varga said.
Since it was founded in 1980, RWA has grown to more than 9,000 members, and holds a massive annual conference and its own annual awards, the RITAs. The first Canadian RWA chapter was founded in Ottawa in 1985, and there are now four more across the country. “I met my agent at RWA and I met my then-publisher at RWA,” said Ottawa chapter president Lucy Farago.
The growth of RWA is no surprise, considering that romance made up 13.5 per cent of Canadian fiction sales in 2017 and 23 per cent of the overall U.S. fiction market in 2016.
However, diversity, inclusion and the less-than-equal treatment of non-white authors have all been serious issues at RWA for many years, exemplified by how visible minorities continue to be stereotyped in titles by white authors. Toronto RWA chapter president Farah Heron, who made her novel debut with The Chai Factor last year, said she was tired of seeing Asian women portrayed as submissive in romance novels. “It chips away at you over time,” she said.
In late December of last year, this issue garnered a new level of attention after news broke the organization was disciplining Milan.
Last summer, Milan openly criticized depictions of half-Chinese characters in the book Somewhere Lies the Moon by Kathryn Lynn Davis on Twitter. Milan, who is half-Chinese, called the portrayal a "racist mess.” The RWA Ethics Committee found Milan to have “engaged in conduct injurious” to the organization. The ruling came with a punishment of a one-year suspension of membership and a lifetime ban on holding leadership positions within the organization.
There was massive, immediate backlash. Authors and RWA members flooded Twitter, especially after learning ethics complaints may have been filtered by RWA staff, leading to the possibility some did not reach the organization’s Ethics Committee.
In one example, a RWA member from Calgary who writes queer romance entered the RITAs last year. The author received feedback from the judges that the novel didn’t qualify because the story was between two male characters. Varga said the author reported that experience to the RWA but received no response. “There are systemic issues our members have had entering contests,” Varga said, pointing out that RWA has a significant number of members like her who are lawyers and had expressed concerns about the organization’s bylaws and protocols for ethics complaints.
Even though the RWA soon rescinded its ruling against Milan, there was still a cascade of negative consequences, including the resignation of authors who had previously signed up to judge the RITAs , authors pulling their books from RITA consideration, the resignations of members and directors-at-large, the withdrawal of at least 36 agents’ support from future events, significant global press coverage, as well as public support for Milan from superstar authors Nora Roberts , Neil Gaiman and N.K. Jemisin.
Dozens of RWA chapters across North America, including in Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa, issued public statements condemning the organization’s senior leadership and the actions against Milan. Several publishers also pulled their support from RWA and its national conference, including Avon , Berkley Romance , Entangled, HarperCollins Canada, Harlequin, Kensington, St. Martin’s, Gallery Books and Tule Publishing .
Last Tuesday, the 2020 RITAs were officially cancelled , citing the contest’s inability to “reflect the breadth and diversity of 2019 romance novels/novellas.” Two days later, RWA announced Suede and Ritter would step down from their positions, though Ritter would have a transition period of several months.
But the statement about the resignations did not include an apology to Milan nor go into detail about what happened. “Telling us that they’re going to be transparent and honest is not the same thing as showing us that they will be,” Heron said.
What has happened within RWA isn’t just about the future of a literary genre that has frequently been subject to misogyny and stereotyped as being frivolous or not as prestigious as other kinds of fiction, despite its massive sales. “This is about our livelihoods and our careers,” Heron said.
The situation has also highlighted how badly the romance genre and the publishing industry at large have treated non-white authors, even best-selling ones. Until 2019, there were no black winners at the RITA awards, despite several authors such as Beverly Jenkins and Alyssa Cole earning critical acclaim and appearing on several bestseller lists.
For many RWA members, most of their involvement and loyalty has been through their local chapter’s monthly meetings, training and writing seminars. Some chapters are considering no longer officially affiliating with the national organization. And even with the resignations at the senior level, Varga and Heron said many Canadian chapter members are not planning to attend the national conference in San Francisco this year due to the significant number of author, speaker and publisher withdrawals, and the cancellation of the RITA awards.
“You can get all these brand new or unreleased books signed by the author,” Heron said, calling the free giveaways one of the best and most fun parts of the conference, despite the long lines. “Those [major] publishers not coming means that won’t happen.”
Varga, Farago and Heron said the organization has a lot of work ahead of it to regain the trust of its members, including an actual apology to Milan and greater transparency about what happened. Varga said the choices RWA makes now, and which group it aims its changes toward, will determine its long-term future.
“Are you trying to make the people who say racist things happy?” she said. “Or are you trying to make people who call out racism happy?”
There’s also the possibility of starting an entirely new organization for romance writers with a new set of bylaws, board of directors and values. It’s an outcome many members aren’t thrilled about but understand might be necessary.
“I would be sad to see the organization go,” Farago said. "But if it needs to go to fix it then that’s what has to happen.”
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Workshops & events, ottawa romance writers, the capital city’s home for romance writers.
We promote excellence in the field of romance writing and work to advance the professional interests of romance writers. We provide continuing support for writers within the romance publishing industry. We offer networking opportunities, advocacy, dissemination of information, professional education, publications, and other activities.
Ottawa Romance Writers was created in 1985 with Jo Beverley as a founding member. In 2015 we celebrated 30 years of advancing romance writing in Ottawa.
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Saturday, Oct 2 – Mini Fall Virtual Retreat
Registration is limited to 100 participants (30 for RWAC, 30 for ORWA, 30 for everyone else, 10 for presenters and wiggle room) Saturday, Oct 2 - Mini Fall
Sept 12, 2021 Workshop: Kobo’s Latest Innovations with Tara Cremin
Learn how Kobo is making it easy for authors to reach readers. This year Kobo has been busy reaching new readers through innovative new eInk devices and the
June 6, 2021 Workshop: Zero Dollar Marketing & FB Ads for Authors with Skye Warren
How can you sell more books every day? Learn some key tips and tricks for marketing your books from New York Times bestseller Skye Warren Paid advertising works
May 2, 2021 Workshop – Book Brush with Kathleen Sweeney
A look at some tools to help writers market their work. There's lots of advice out there on how to be a successful author: write a great book,
March 7, 2021 Workshop – Writing a Strong Second Draft of Your Novel
Learn practical tips and techniques for evaluating the first draft of your fiction manuscript Writing a Strong Second Draft of Your Novel In this seminar, Maggie Morris, The
February 2021 Workshop – Giving a Good Critique
Learn how to provide useful critiques without tipping into either bland applause or painful discouragement Everyone wants a good critique for their manuscripts, but it can be overwhelming
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Gain access to workshops, critique groups, meetings, internet chat group, LoveKnot newsletter, library of resources. and writers who have all different ranges of experience in writing and publishing.
If you’ve just starting to think about writing or have published many award-winning romances, Ottawa Romance Writers is the place for you. Being part of an established professional network is one of the best things you can do for your career, whether you want to give back, develop your skills, or just enjoy being around other romance writers. You’ll find benefits in the monthly educational workshops, critique groups, LoveKnot newsletter, library of resources, socials and more.
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We have members from Toronto and the surrounding area, including northern and southern Ontario and even across Canada. Our roster of published members includes
Romance Writers of America® (RWA) is a nonprofit trade association whose mission is to advance the professional and common business interests of
Enhancing the craft of writing and advancing the careers of our authors. Tweets, retweets, and likes are not endorsements. Not affiliated with RWA. RomanceAC.
The Association evolved in 1987 from a six‑week workshop co-sponsored by Alberta Culture, Film and Literary Arts and the Calgary Public Library.
The first Canadian RWA chapter was founded in Ottawa in 1985, and there are now four more across the country. “I met my agent at RWA and I met
We promote excellence in the field of romance writing and work to advance the professional interests of romance writers.
Ottawa Romance Writers Association Company Information ; Ottawa Romance Writers Association Headquarters. headquarters: Nepean, Ontario, Canada ; Ottawa Romance
The purpose of the Alberta Romance Writers Association is to promote excellence in romance fiction writing and to provide support for its members through
Harlequin Enterprises ULC (known simply as Harlequin) is a romance and women's fiction publisher founded in Winnipeg, Canada in 1949.