This edition of Wednesday Links will be a bit different. Instead of listing a big mishmash of things from the past week, I’m going to be focus on parsing all the RITA award and RWA happenings because a lot is going on.
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The 2019 RITA award and Golden Heart finalists were announced. You can see all the categories and finalists here. However, it’s glaringly obvious how White the finalist list is when compared with the number of authors of color putting out great work.
Many authors are sharing their frustrations and personal stories in the #RITAsSoWhite hashtag on Twitter.
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Author Bronwen Fleetwood has put together Twitter threads of statistical diversity data of the RITAs.
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RWA has released a statement on the matter and how it hopes to change the RITA process moving forward.
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Courtney Milan is hosting a big book club for the authors of color who are finalists this year. I believe it’s three books. There’s a logo, a hashtag, and it’s open to everyone!
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Want to support more authors of color? Cat Sebastian has an ongoing Twitter thread of recommended reads.
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Not RITA related, but relevant. Romance publisher Forever has open submissions for #OwnVoices romances. The submission contest is open through April 15. Full details here.
Calling all writers! Forever's open submissions #contest, #AllLoveAllVoicesContest is accepting entries from March 19-April 15. #OwnVoices submissions are welcome & encouraged! Follow the link for more details, to enter and Official Rules: https://t.co/WD68G7MzYK pic.twitter.com/cPmcRXXcVI
— Read Forever Pub (@readforeverpub) March 19, 2019
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Don’t forget to share what super cool things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Bookriot did a good summary of this that has a ton of links, https://bookriot.com/2019/03/25/ritas-so-white-again/ including Helen Hoang’s twitter about opting out, and I was hoping we’d be discussing it today. Even though romance is the biggest seller of books it is treated as a joke by much of the literary world. Certainly the RITA is not a coveted prize like the HUGO which is also for genre work. So women already know what this is like but still we white women treat women of color this way. It makes me sad.
@Amanda The link for RITA categories and finalists goes to the statement. I clicked around the site and couldn’t find it myself!
@Ginger Here ya go,via BookRiot: https://www.rwa.org/Online/News/2019/RWA_Announces_2019_Finalists.aspx
@Ginger: https://www.rwa.org/Online/News/2019/RWA_Announces_2019_Finalists.aspx
Considering that all this came up last year from the noms to how black authors didn’t have signing tables at the event and of course has come up even before last year, that statement “we sure will talk about it at our meeting this July” has a thoughts and prayers feel to it
@hng23 @Teev Thanks!
Sorry, everyone! Should be updated! I’ve been on a plane for the past five hours.
I’ve been in the ‘But what can I do?’ camp since last year, and tried to read more AoC, but now I’ve doubled down. It IS my fault. Especially since many of the authors I’m liking these days I found because of trying to diversify my list. All the amazing #romanceclass women. I have NEVER read a bad book from them, and they have turned into big time comfort reads. Farrah Rochon, Rochelle Alers, Mia Sosa, Mariana Zapata, Sharon C. Cooper, Katrina Jackson (OMG is she amazing!!!). I have only discovered these women by looking. But they have all been terrific. I am trying to find more, so recs are welcome. And you know, I couldn’t be bothered with the spreadsheet, but now I have downloaded one. This f#ck-up is my problem. I am gonna own it.
One of my author friends sent me this, from Ann Aguirre:
http://www.annaguirre.com/withdrawal-from-the-rita/
[…] Linkity from Smart Bitches. […]
Susanna Kearsley also requested her book be withdrawn from the Ritas.