RWA Chapter Contests
The Kiss Of Death Chapter’s 2010 Daphne Du Maurier Award For Excellence In Mystery/Suspense deadline is March 15 for both published and unpublished contests. Judges for unpublished contest: category (series) – Patience Smith, Silhouette Intimate Moments; Michelle Grajkowski, Three Seas Literary Agency; historical – Alex Logan, Grand Central Publishing; Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency; inspirational – Caleb Sjogren, Tyndale House Publishers; Steve Laube Agency; paranormal – Heather Osborn, Tor/Forge; Paige Wheeler, Folio Literary Management; single title – Margaret Marbury, MIRA/HQN; Stephanie Maclean, Trident Media Group; mainstream – Toni Plummer, St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne; Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency. To enter
Charter Oaks Romance Writers’ Golden Acorn contest closes March 31. Judges: Contemporary Series Romance – Lucy Gilmour, Harlequin; Contemporary Single Title – Shauna Summers, Random House; Paranormal – Megan Records, Kensington; Historical – Sally Williamson, Harlequin. Guidelines
Central Ohio Fiction Writers’ Ignite the Flame Contest, open to authors unpublished in book-length fiction. Judges: Young Adult – Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger Group; Erotic Romance – Deb Werksman, Executive Editor, Sourcebooks; Category-Length Contemporary – Elizabeth Mazer, Steeple Hill / Silhouette; Suspense Romance – Esi Sogah, Avon Books; Historical Romance – Susannah Taylor, Richard Henshaw Group; Single Title — Leis Pederson, Berkley Publishing Group; Paranormal Romance — Michelle Grajkowski, Three Seas Literary Agency. Closes May 8. More info
2010 River City Romance Writers’ Duel on the Delta Contest: Entries must be received via e-mail by March 15, 2010 at Midnight CST. Submissions consist of the first 15 pages with an optional one-page, single-spaced synopsis. For more information about eligibility, categories, and contest rules, please visit the RCRW website
2010 Spring Into Romance Contest – deadline March 20. Final Judges: Contemporary Category, Jenny Hutton, Mills & Boon; Single Title, Leis Pederson, Berkley Publishing; Novel w/Romantic Elements, Adam Wilson, MIRA Books; Romantic Suspense, Jill Marsal, Marsal Literary Agency; Historical, Tessa Woodward, Harper Collins; Paranormal, Megan Records, Kensington; YA, Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. http://www.rwasd.com/contests/index.html
The 2010 Royal Ascot, sponsored by The Beau Monde RWA Specialty Chapter for Regency Writers, closes April 20, 2010. Published authors may also enter for feedback only. They will not be eligible for the final round. Rules and entry forms
The Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award for published novels, sponsored by Ancient City Romance Authors, closes July 5. Final Judges: Booksellers, Librarians, Romance Readers. See web site
RWA Chapter Workshops
The North Texas Two Step: Michael Hauge’s Story Mastery, March 19-21. Plus Editor and Agent appointments available: Adam Wilson, MIRA Books and Harlequin Teen; Holly Blanck, St. Martin’s Press; Joy Azmitia, Russell and Volkening; Becca Stumpf, Prospect Agency. www.ntrwa.org
Fire Up Your Fiction with L.A. Banks, sponsored by Pocono-Lehigh Romance Writers, Saturday May 8, Bethlehem, Pa., www.plrw.org
Heartbeat RWA presents its March workshop: Getting Published in the Magazines, online March 15 – March 30. Instructor: Dianne Despain, author of 1000+ freelance magazine articles, 25 romance novels, 9 non-fiction books including A Writer’s Guide to Getting Published in Magazines. More information
Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America announces our 25th annual Retreat from Harsh Reality! Date: April 16-18, Augusta, Michigan. Multi-published author Jo Ann Ferguson will present workshops “I Second that Emotion” and “Taming the *&^% Query and Synopsis”. More information and registration forms are available at our website
April 5th – 18th — Guilt-Free Author Promotion: Picking the Right PR Options For You, a two week online workshop taught by PR consultant/Berkley author Marcia James and a slate of promotion-savvy guest lecturers . Hosted by RWA San Diego (RWA-SD). Registration
Registration for the NHRWA’s 2010 Spring Fling Conference is now open! May 14-15 at the Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth Hotel in Portsmouth, NH. This year’s conference features a pre-conference workshop with NY Times bestselling author Lara Adrian, a luncheon speech by RITA® Award winning author Kristan Higgins, a dozen workshops and a book fair and signing. For more information or to register
Building a Story That Sells, featuring Dianna Love and Mary Buckham, is an all-day event Saturday, April 17, 2010, at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center – Decatur, GA. Registration is limited! Sign-up now through April 1!
The Synopsis Queen Tells All, presented by Kara Lennox, will illustrate how to break down the synopsis-writing process into a foolproof formula that will have maximum impact for minimum words. Online, March 15-28. To register
RWA Chapter Conferences
RWA-New England Chapter’s 2010 Let Your Imagination Take Flight Conference will take place March 26-27, 2010, at the Sheraton Tara in Framingham, MA. Speakers include: MaryJanice Davidson;
Judith Arnold; Brenda Novak. For registration page
Chicago North-RWA chapter conference is pleased to announce, Spring Fling 2010, April 23-24, 2010, Hyatt, Deerfield, IL. Headliners and Keynote speakers: Cherry Adair and Julia Quinn, as well as Jenna
Petersen, Elizabeth Hoyt, Jade Lee, Courtney Milan, and Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and many others. Pitch appointments will be available with guest Editors: Amanda Bergeron (Avon), Selena James (Kensington), Lindsey Faber (Samhain) and Kat O’Shea (Leap Books & The Wild Rose Press) or Agents: Diana Fox, Laurie McLean, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, and Paige Wheeler. www.chicagospringfling.com/
Capital Region Romance Writers of America presents Building a Better Novel: A Writer’s Tool Box, June 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Troy, New York. Featuring Jenna Petersen on the business of writing, Caridad Pineiro on the craft of writing and an editor / agent panel and appointments including: Lindsey Faber, Sahmain Publishing; Keyren Gerlach, Silhouette Romantic Suspense; Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Literary Agency; Pam Strickler, Pam Strickler Author Management. For a conference brochure and/or registration form, please visit our web site
Call For Workshop Proposals – Fun In The Sun Conference, January 20-24, 2011: Florida Romance Writers of South Florida cordially invite speakers to submit proposals for our Fun in the Sun Conference, a four night cruise to Key West and Cozumel Send your proposals by June 1,2010.
Call For Workshop Proposals – Be a part of Seattle’s 2010 Emerald City Writers’ Conference, Oct 1-3, 2010. Craft, Promotion, Research and PRO topics desired. Submit by April 1st, 2010 at www.gsrwa.org/proposal.php
The Gulf Coast Chapter of RWA’s 2010 Silken Sands Writers’ Conference will be held at Pensacola Beach, Florida, March 19-21. Keynote speaker: NYT best-selling author Karen Rose. Kick-off speaker: NYT best-selling author Dianna Love. Agents: Laura Bradford of the Bradford Literary Agency, Elaine Spencer of the Knight Agency, and Joyce Holland of the D4EO Agency. Editors: Megan Records of Kensington Publishing, Lindsey Faber of Samhain, and Patience Smith of Silhouette/Harlequin. More information
The Desert Rose Chapter’s Desert Dreams Conference runs April 16-18, 2010 at Chaparall Suites in Scottsdale, Arizona. Conference fees until December 31 are $208 for RWA members, including an editor or agent appointment. After December 31, the fee is $228 for RWA members. For more information
Non-RWA Workshops
Free workshops from www.savvyauthors.com: Before Copy Editing with Claudia Suzanne and How To Promote When You Don’t Know How with Jamison Wolf
