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    The RITA® Award

    RITA statuetteThe purpose of the RITA award is to promote excellence in the romance genre by recognizing outstanding published romance novels and novellas.

    The award itself is a golden statuette named after RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and has become the symbol for excellence in published romance fiction.

    About the Contest


    Up to 1,200 romance novels from 11 different categories are entered in the RITA competition     each year. A novel may be entered either by the author or by the book's publisher in one of the 11 categories. After the first round of judging by published romance authors, the competition narrows to approximately 100 finalists.

    Once RWA announces the RITA finalists, a final round of judges evaluates and ranks these novels to determine the 11 RITA Award winners. The RITA Award winners are announced at the Awards Ceremony at the RWA Annual Conference.

    Romance Writers of America will announce the winners of the 2013 RITA contest at the Awards Ceremony at the 33rd Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA, on July 20.

     

    The word RITA® and the RITA statuette are registered service marks belonging to RWA. The drawing of the RITA statuette may not be used in generic fashion as a logo or decorative motif for any purpose in any publication not explicitly authorized by RWA. Permission to use RITA and Golden Heart symbols and institutional marks of RWA for any publication in other than fair use hard-news reporting must be obtained in writing from RWA.