RITA Awards (1990-2019)
Subcategory of Romance Writers of America
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History

Inaugurated in 1982, the RITA Awards were presented annually by the Romance Writers of America (RWA).

The RITA Awards were cancelled for 2020, after the controversy over leadership of the Romance Writers of America in late 2019. In May 2020, RWA announced that it was retiring the RITA Awards permanently, and would replace them with a new award, the Vivian, named for the RWA founder Vivian Stephens.

Notes

  • Annual awards administered by the Romance Writers of America (RWA), an American professional trade association representing the romance-fiction genre and its industry. Finalists from the best romance fiction published in the preceeding year, are announced mid (northern) spring. Award winners are announced in the last week of July. The Rita Awards are in several categories.

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2012

winner (Single Title Contemporary Romance) y separately published work icon Boomerang Bride Fiona Lowe , s.l. : Carina Press , 2012 Z1853763 2012 single work novel romance

'Matilda Geoffrey risked it all for love. She left Australia to be with Barry-the man who had swept her off her virtual feet. Now, wearing a wedding dress, she's alone on Main Street in small-town Wisconsin, and things aren't working out exactly as planned...

'In town for his annual family visit, Marc Olsen had never seen a bride quite like Matilda-staring into a storefront window, holding a tottering wedding cake, and looking desperately in need of a groom. He may not have any warm feelings for his hometown, but meeting Matilda just as she discovers she's been scammed by her online "fiancé" stirs something in him.

'Matilida is not the kind of woman Marc imagined himself with, and Marc is anything but the romantic hero that Matilda has always dreamed of. But as unlikely circumstances throw them together, can they let go of their misconceptions and risk their hearts for love?'

Source: Fiona Lowe's website, http://www.fionalowe.com/
Sighted: 10/04/2012

Year: 2006

winner (Best Traditional Romance) y separately published work icon Princess of Convenience Marion Lennox , Richmond : Mills and Boon , 2006 Z1265011 2006 single work novel romance

Year: 2004

winner (Best Traditional Romance) y separately published work icon Her Royal Baby Marion Lennox , Richmond : Mills and Boon , 2003 Z1485635 2003 single work novel romance

Year: 2000

winner Best First Book y separately published work icon The Lady and the Unicorn The Maiden and the Unicorn Isolde Martyn , Sydney : Bantam Books , 1998 Z197062 1998 single work novel romance historical fiction

'In 1470 the Wars of the Roses between the house of York and Lancaster threatens to tear England apart once more. In the middle of the conflict is a most unlikely heroine. For Margery, the beautiful and spirited ward of Warwick the Kingmaker, freedom is the only prize worth having. But it is a prize that could cost her her life. Sent to France on a mission for King Edward IV, she finds herself the target of a man who may be one of the king's most dangerous enemies. Richard Huddleston is bold, enigmatic and devastatingly handsome. He is used to getting what he wants, and he wants Margery to be his wife. Margery suspects that Richard has abandoned the king and the House of York and is conspiring with the rebel queen and the traitorous House of Lancaster. Caught between her role as a spy and a fierce passion that neither she nor Richard can deny, Margery finds her heart exposed to the ultimate danger: falling in love. Yet she cannot admit her real mission to Richard. For if she stays true to her noble cause, she'll save many men...and lose the one that matters most.'

Source: Author's website http://www.isoldemartyn.com (Sighted: 14/04/2010)

Works About this Award

Shelflife Jason Steger , 2000 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 19 August 2000; (p. 7)
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