Chapter Events and Contests
Local RWA chapters offer a number of conferences, contests, and workshops. Listed below are the chapter contests and conferences scheduled for the coming months.
Please submit all contest, conference, and workshop announcements to
chapterevents@rwa.org. A response will be sent via return email. If you haven't received a response in 48 hours, please follow up. Thank you!
Deadline and format instructions are provided at the end of the column below. Please also send notification of broken or incorrect links to
chapterevents@rwa.org. Thank you!
Updated 05/22/2019
Contests
*Open to published authors
**Open to published and unpublished authors
June Contests
*2019 Golden Leaf Contest
Sponsor: New Jersey Romance Writers
Fee: $25–30
Deadline: June 1, 2019
Entry: Four new autographed books with a first copyright date or first North American printing date between June 2018 and May 2019.
Categories: Best First Book, Contemporary Romance: Short, Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length, Contemporary Romance: Long, Historical Romance, Romantic Novella, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance, Best Book by a New Jersey Romance Author.
Judges: Booksellers, librarians, readers groups, romance readers.
Top Prize: Golden Leaf trophy, pin, website badge.
FMI, visit
http://www.njromancewriters.org/ or email the contest coordinator at
GoldenLeaf@njromancewriters.org.
2019 Put Your Heart in a Book Contest
Sponsor: New Jersey Romance Writers
Fee: NJRW Member - 1st Entry $25, Subsequent Entries $15; Non-NJRW Member - 1st Entry $30, Subsequent Entries $25.
Deadline: June 1, 2019, 12:01 a.m. EST.
Eligibility: Entrant may not have accepted a publishing offer for a work of original fictional narrative prose of 20,000 words or more within the past five (5)years. (Unpublished romance authors only).
Entry: Submissions will consist of a first chapter, not to exceed 30 pages, and a projected word count of the completed manuscript. A prologue may be included as part of the first chapter, if within page total guidelines. A synopsis must be included at the end of the submission, clearly defined with a page break and titled "SYNOPSIS". The synopsis will not count toward the page count.
Categories: Contemporary-Series, Contemporary-Single Title, Historical, Romantic Suspense, Paranormal, YA.
Judges: published authors.
Final Judges: industry professional agents, editors, and multi-published authors.
Top Prize: Awarded in each category. 1st Place, $50 + plaque; 2nd Place, $30 + certificate; 3rd Place, $25 + certificate.
FMI, visit
https://www.njromancewriters.org/pyhiab-contest.html or email contest coordinator Jessica Collins at
PYHIAB@njromancewriters.org.
*I Heart Indie Contest
Sponsor: Las Vegas Romance Writers
Fee: $15
Deadline: June 1, 2019
Eligibility: The contest judges the covers and back cover copies of books and novellas that were independently published (either electronically or in print) in the United States for the first time prior to March 31, 2019.
Entry: Entry form, the book’s cover, the text of the back cover copy, and the entrance fee of $15.00. Electronic entries only.
Categories: Contemporary, Historical, Erotic, Paranormal, Suspense, Sci-Fi Fantasy and Women’s Fiction with strong romantic elements.
Judges: Book club members who are avid readers who will select the finalists for each category. Every effort will be made to use book clubs that are genre-specific.
Final Judges: The finalists will be judged by agents experienced in working with indie authors. Past agent judges have expressed interest in representing one or more of our finalists. The Best of the Best will be selected by our first-round book club judges from the category winners.
Top Prize: The winners will be featured in an ad on the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books website. In addition, there is a cash prize of $125 for the category winner selected as the Best of the Best.
FMI, visit
lvrwa.org for more details. If you still have questions, please email the contest chairperson at
contest@lvrwa.org.
**Lone Star Writing Contest
Sponsor: Northwest Houston RWA
Fee: $25
Deadline: June 8, 2019
Eligibility: Published/nonpublished authors
Entry: First 5,000 words of a work that has not been contracted/published prior to Sept. 1, 2019.
Categories: Single Title, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Inspirational, YA, Historical, Fantasy/Futuristic/Paranormal.
Judges: 3 first-round judges look at each entry (at least one an RWA PRO or PAN member), top three in each category go to final round.
Final Judges: Visit
www.nwhrwa.com for a list of final round judges.
Top Prize: $50 for 1st prize in each category.
FMI, visit
www.nwhrwa.com.
Music in Regency England
Sponsor: The Beau Monde Chapter's Regency Academe
Fee: $15-20
Date: June 17
–28, 2019
Presenter: Louisa Cornell
FMI,
https://thebeaumonde.com/resources/academe/
Indiana Golden Opportunity
Sponsor: Indiana RWA
Fee: $25
Deadline: June 30, 2019. Contest opens May 1.
Entry: First 7,000 words, blurb and 3-page synopsis.
Categories: Contemporary, Paranormal, Historical, Erotic, Romantic Suspense, Young Adult, Inspirational.
Judges: Trained IRWA members.
Final Judges: Acquiring editors both epub and traditional.
FMI, see our website:
https://indianarwa.com/.
July Contests
**Heart of Denver Molly Contest
Sponsor: Heart of Denver
Fee: $25–35
Deadline: July 1, 2019
Eligibility: Participation is open to all unpublished authors of novel length romance fiction and those who have not published within three years prior to contest deadline.
Entry: Electronic only. Entries are to be up to the first 25 pages (including prologue) PLUS up to 5 pages of a synopsis. (The synopsis is not judged, but is helpful.)
Categories: Short Contemporary, Long Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, and Young Adult Romance.
Judges: Published/unpublished in the first round.
Final Judges: Editors and Agents will score entries in final round and/or agents will critique/review the first-place category-winning entries.
FMI,
https://www.hodrw.com/the-molly-contest or email contest coordinator
molly@hodrw.com.
*The Carla - Crown Jewel of Books Contest
Sponsor: Mid-America Romance Authors (MARA)
Fee: $25
Deadline: Registration must be completed and contest fee paid by 11:59 p.m. CDT, July 1, 2019. Books must be received by July 15, 2019.
Eligibility: Open to any traditional or self-published author with an original copyright date of 2018.
Entry: All books must be perfect bound and be at least 40,000 words in length. Multiple entries are allowed in the same or different categories (separate fees apply). However, an entry may not be entered in more than one category.
Categories: Category Romance (includes all novels intended for series lines), Contemporary Single Title, Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Erotic Romance, Young Adult Romance/New Adult Romance, Inspirational Romance.
Judges: First round will be judged by readers.
Final Judges: Final judging by a bookseller.
Top Prize: First place book will receive a trophy and publicity on the Mid-America Romance Authors Facebook page and in the RWR. All finalists will receive a Finalist Certificate.
FMI, visit our website
www.mararwa.com or email
thecarla@mararwa.com.
**Emerald City Best Book Blurb Contest
Sponsor: Greater Seattle RWA
Fee: $10
Contest period: June 6, 2019, to July 15, 2019
Entry: Published and unpublished authors welcome; back-cover-blurb up to 250 words. Must be written by the author.
Judges: Trained Greater Seattle RWA members.
Final Judges: Acquiring editors and agents.
FMI,
https://gsrwa.org/.
**The Writer Contest 2019
Sponsor: Land of Enchantment Romance Authors of New Mexico
Fee: $35 for nonmembers, $25 for members
Deadline: July 31, 2019, or until cap is met
Eligibility: Open to all authors (both published and unpublished). Cap set at 55 entries.
Entry: The opening five thousand (5,000) words of an unpublished romance novel.
Categories: All sub-genres of romance, all heat levels, any pairings/combos are welcome. Diverse stories and authors encouraged to enter. Please indicate which sub-genre and heat level your submission falls into from the list on
leranm.com.
Judges: Three first-round trained judges that include at least one published author/PRO member. Score sheets and feedback will be made available to all authors at the end of the contest.
Final Judges: Visit our website for a list of final judges.
Top Prize: All selected first-round finalists will receive personalized mentoring by a PAN judge. Their updated manuscript will be entered in the final round and the winner will be named The Writer for 2019. See prizes at our website.
FMI, please visit
leranm.com or email Erin Krueger at
lerathewritercontest@leranm.com.
August Contests
*2019 Rocky Mountain Cover Contest for Published Authors
Sponsor: Colorado Romance Writers
Fee: $15
Deadline: August 31, 2019
Entry: Send a .jpg (no exceptions) of your book cover art with an original copyright date from June 2018 through 2019, eleven categories.
Judges: romance readers, authors.
FMI, go to
https://coloradoromancewriters.com/.
**2019 Pages From the Heart Contest
Sponsor: From the Heart Romance Writers
Fee: $21–26
Deadline: August 31, 2019
Eligibility: The contest is open to unpublished authors and authors who have not been published in the category they are entering within the last 3 years.
Entry: The first 6,000 words of your original, unpublished, and uncontracted work-in-progress or completed manuscript.
Categories: Historical, Long Contemporary, Short contemporary, Paranormal/Futuristic/Time Travel, Romantic Suspense/Mystery, & Young Adult.
Judges: Three first-round judges per entry. The lowest score will be dropped, but will be used in case of a tie.
Final Judges: Finalists from each category will be judged by two industry professionals.
Top Prize: TBA.
FMI, please visit the From the Heart Romance Writers website for contest rules and additional information.
http://fthrw.com/pages-from-the-heart-contest.
Conferences
June Conferences and Workshops
2nd Annual All-Day Workshop “Structuring the Novel”
Sponsor: Evergreen Romance Writers of America (EVRWA)
Location: Snohomish PUD, 2320 California St. Everett, WA 98021
Fee: $25 (EVRWA Members), $50 (Non-Members)
Date: June 29, 2019, 11 AM – 5 PM
Speaker: critically acclaimed, award-winning, and best-selling author Megan Chance.
Workshop Features: Voice, Setting, Characterization, Editing, POV, Show Don’t Tell, and more.
FMI, visit
https://www.evergreenrwa.org. Questions email:
EVRWARegisterWorkshop@Gmail.com
July Conferences and Workshops
CIMRWA 2019 Mini-Conference
Sponsor: Cultural, Interracial, and Multicultural Special Interest Chapter
Location: New York Marriot Marquis (National Conference site)
Fee: $70 (CIMRWA members); $80 (Non-members)
Date: July 23, 2019, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Speakers: Award-winning and best-selling author LaQuette, award-winning editor and author Rhonda Merwarth, and Entangled Publishing CEO & Publisher, Liz Pelletier.
Publishing Houses: Avon/Harper Collins, Dreamspinner Press, Carina Press, Forever/Forever Yours, Sourcebooks, Kensington, Entangled Publishing.
Conference Features: Workshops and personalized feedback from editors/publishers actively seeking #ownvoice and diverse romances.
FMI, visit
http://www.cimrwa.org/events.html.
Online Workshops
June Online Workshops
Pitches and Blurbs and Tag Lines, Oh My!
Sponsor: Central Ohio Fiction Writers
Fee: $25 for COFW members, $30 for non-COFW RWA members, $35 for non-RWA affiliated students.
Date: June 1–30, 2019
Presenter: Linnea Sinclair.
FMI,
http://cofwevents.org.
When Disaster Strikes: Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Services
Sponsor: Kiss of Death
Fee: $15–30
Date: June 1–30, 2019
Presenter: Sam Bradley.
FMI,
http://www.rwakissofdeath.org.
Writing Roundup
Sponsor: Kiss of Death
Fee: $15–30
Date: June 1–30, 2019
Presenter: Terri Odell.
FMI,
http://www.rwakissofdeath.org.
Amazing Characters
Sponsor: Saguaro (Tucson) RWA
Fee: $30 SRW members, $40 nonmembers
Date: June 3–21, 2019
Presenter: Melinda Curtis.
FMI,
http://tucsonrwa.org/category/Online-Classes/.
Write the Effing Book
Sponsor: RWA Online Chapter 136
Fee: $15
Date: June 3–21, 2019
Presenter: Mary E. Thompson
FMI,
https://rwaonlinechapter.org/?page_id=1054
Getting Contest/Conference Ready
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25 | Non-Member $35
Date: June 3–28, 2019
Presenter: Susan Palmquist
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#JUN8.
Self-Editing or “How’d I miss that?”
Sponsor: Heart of Carolina Romance Writers
Fee: $30 non-members/$25 HCRW and CRW/NC members
Date: June 3–28, 2019
Presenter: Kathryn Jane.
FMI,
http://www.heartofcarolina.org/calendar.
Schmoozing 101
Sponsor: Contemporary Romance Online Chapter
Fee: $15 CRW Members / $25 RWA Members / $35 Non-RWA Members
Date: June 3–28, 2019
Presenter: Jacqui Jacoby.
FMI,
http://contemporaryromance.org/workshops/.
Use the Enneagram to Develop Your Characters
Sponsor: Southern Tier Authors of Romance
Fee: Chapter Members $15; RWA members $25; non-members $30
Date: June 3–28, 2019
Presenter: Linda Johansen.
FMI,
http://starraw.org or
starofficials@gmail.com.
“Where the Heck Do I Start?” An Introduction into Self-Publishing
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25 | Non-Member $35
Date: June 3–28, 2019
Presenter: Kathryn Jane
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#JUN10.
Hearts and Handcuffs
Sponsor: FF&P
Fee: $25 FF&P Members - $30 Non FF&P Members
Date: June 3–30, 2019
Presenter: Angela Knight.
FMI,
https://ffprwa.com.
Writing Erotic Romance
Sponsor: FF&P
Fee: $25 FF&P Members - $30 Non FF&P Members
Date: June 3–30, 2019
Presenter: Louisa Bacio.
FMI,
https://ffprwa.com.
(WEBINAR) Help, My Book Isn't Selling! What Can I Do?
Sponsor: Contemporary Romance Online Chapter
Fee: $15 CRW Members/$25 RWA Members/$35 Non-RWA Members
Date: June 4, 2019
Presenter: Penny Sansevieri.
FMI,
http://contemporaryromance.org/workshops/.
Maximizing Non-Verbal Communication & Body Language for Sparking Dialogue
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25 | Non-Member $35
Date: June 4–27, 2019
Presenter: Laurie Sanders
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#JUN9.
Knocking Out Novellas Quickly
Sponsor: Yosemite Romance Writers
Fee: $20 YRW members/ $25 non-members
Date: June 5–30, 2019
Presenter: Ivy Quinn.
FMI,
https://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/workshops.
Male POV
Sponsor: NEORWA
Fee: $20
Date: June 6–16, 2019
Presenter: Sascha Illyvich.
FMI,
http://www.neorwa.com/online-workshops/upcoming-meetings/.
Self-Editing (2-week class)
Sponsor: OCC/RWA
Fee: $20 OCC Members; $30 Non-Members
Date: June 10–22, 2019
Presenter: Linda Carroll-Bradd.
FMI,
http://occrwa.org/classes/.
Writing Erotic Romance and Erotica (Must be 18)
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25 | Non-Member $35
Date: June 6–28, 2019
Presenter: Susan Palmquist
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#JUN7.
July Online Workshops
How Fire Departments and EMS work in the Real World
Sponsor: Kiss of Death
Fee: $15–30
Date: July 1–31, 2019
Presenter: Joe Collins.
FMI,
http://www.rwakissofdeath.org.
Marketing Tactics for Authors
Sponsor: Kiss of Death
Fee: $15–30
Date: July 1–31, 2019
Presenter: Monica Schroeder.
FMI,
http://www.rwakissofdeath.org.
Quilting 101: Patchworking the Perfect Plot through Relationship Arcs
Sponsor: NEORWA
Fee: $20
Date: July 1–31, 2019
Presenter: Suzanne Johnson.
FMI,
http://www.neorwa.com/online-workshops/upcoming-meetings/.
Scrivener Scene by Scene
Sponsor: YARWA
Fee: $25 for members/$30 non-YARWA members
Date: July 8–19, 2019
Presenter: Ines Johnson.
FMI,
http://yarwa.com/workshops/.
Crafting the Short Story or Novella
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25 | Non-Member $35
Date: July 8–30, 2019
Presenter: Susan Palmquist
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#JUL1.
Understanding Pacing
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25 | Non-Member $35
Date: July 9–August 1, 2019
Presenter: Laurie Sanders
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#JUL2.
August Online Workshops
Logos, Ads and More: Effective Graphic Design for Writers
Sponsor: Southern Tier Authors of Romance
Fee: $15–30
Date: August 1–23, 2019
Presenter: Zara West
FMI,
https://starrwa.org.
Novellas and How to Knock Them Out Fast
Sponsor: Southern Tier Authors of Romance
Fee: Chapter Members $15; RWA members $25; non-members $30
Date: August 1–23, 2019
Presenter: Margaret Bates
FMI,
http://starrwa.org or
starofficials@gmail.com.
Horses for Fiction Writers
Sponsor: Contemporary Romance Online Chapter
Fee: $15 CRW Members/$25 RWA Members/$35 Non-RWA Members
Date: August 1–28, 2019
Presenter: Kathryn Jane
FMI,
http://contemporaryromance.org/workshops/.
Criminal Fun with E-Devices
Sponsor: Kiss of Death
Fee: $15–30
Date: August 1–31, 2019
Presenter: Ann Ziegler
FMI,
http://www.rwakissofdeath.org.
Diversity in Fiction
Sponsor: Kiss of Death
Fee: $15–30
Date: August 1–31, 2019
Presenter: Eliana West
FMI,
http://www.rwakissofdeath.org.
Get More Done
Sponsor: Contemporary Romance Online Chapter
Fee: $15 CRW Members/$25 RWA Members/$35 Non-RWA Members
Date: August 5–16, 2019
Presenter: Mary E Thompson
FMI,
http://contemporaryromance.org/workshops/.
Beyond 50 Shades: Going from Fanfiction to Original Fiction
Sponsor: NEORWA
Fee: $20
Date: August 5–30, 2019
Presenter: Ivy Quinn
FMI,
http://www.neorwa.com/online-workshops/upcoming-meetings/.
Character Channeling: Using Goal and Motivation to Make Your Character Sympathetic and Active
Sponsor: Tucson/Saguaro RWA
Fee: $30.05 for SRW members, $40.05 for non-SRW members
Date: August 5–30, 2019
Presenter: Alicia Rasley
FMI,
http://tucsonrwa.org/category/Online-Classes/.
Crafting the Short Story or Novella Boot Camp
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $55 | Non-Member $65
Date: August 5–30, 2019
Presenter: Susan Palmquist
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#AUG7.
From Austen to Aliens—How to Create Classic Tough Chicks
Sponsor: Contemporary Romance Online Chapter
Fee: $15 CRW Members / $25 RWA Members / $35 Non-RWA Members
Date: August 5–30, 2019
Presenter: Jacqui Jacoby
FMI,
http://contemporaryromance.org/workshops/.
How to Build a Smart Website That Grows Your Author Business
Sponsor: Heart of Carolina Romance Writers
Fee: $25 non-members/$20 HCRW and CRW/NC members
Date: August 5–30, 2019
Instructor: Tivi Jones
FMI,
http://www.heartofcarolina.org/calendar.
Writing YA/NA Historical Romance
Sponsor: Yosemite Romance Writers
Fee: $20 YRW Members/$25 non-members
Date: August 5–30, 2019
Presenter: Lynn Lovegreen.
FMI,
https://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/workshops.
Villains—Writing for the Dark Side
Sponsor: FF&P
Fee: $25 FF&P Members - $30 Non FF&P Members
Date: August 5–September 1, 2019
Presenter: Rebekah Ganiere
FMI,
https://ffprwa.com.
The Literary Sales Package
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25 | Non-Member $35
Date: August 6–29, 2019
Presenter: Laurie Sanders
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#AUG8.
Scrivener
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $35 | Non-Member $40
Date: August 6–30, 2019
Presenter: Pat Haggerty
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#AUG10.
The Well-Tempered Sentence: Line Editing for Authors
Sponsor: Outreach International Romance Writers
Fee: OIRW Member $25/ Non-Member $35
Date: August 6–30, 2019
Presenter: JoSelle Vanderhooft
FMI,
http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#AUG9.
Serializing: Using the Structure of Episodic Television to Craft Your Serialized Novel
Sponsor: YARWA
Fee: $25 for members/$30 non-YARWA members
Date: August 12–23, 2019
Presenter: Ines Johnson
FMI,
http://yarwa.com/workshops/.
Back Cover Copy “Shoot Me Now”
Sponsor: FF&P
Fee: $25 FF&P Members - $30 Non FF&P Members
Date: August 12–September 8, 2019
Presenter: Kathryn Jane
FMI,
https://ffprwa.com.
CONTEST FORMAT: Contest Name
Sponsor (chapter name)
Fee
Deadline
Eligibility
Entry
Categories
Judges
Final Judges
Top Prize
FMI (entry form, rules, score sheet, contact, Web site info)
CONFERENCE FORMAT:
Conference Name
Sponsor (chapter name)
Location (place, city, state)
Fee
Date
Speakers [up to five individuals (authors, agents, editors, specialists, etc.), also indicate which ONE speaker is to be featured in the RWR]
Publishing Houses (house names only, no additional individual editor names)
Agencies (agency names only, no additional individual agent names)
Conference Features (workshops, multi-track, panels, appointments, critiques, awards, book fair/signing, raffles)
FMI (contact, website info)
WORKSHOP FORMAT (FOR INTENSIVE, HANDS-ON, SINGLE-TOPIC, OR SINGLE-SPEAKER CONFERENCES):
Workshop Name
Sponsor (chapter name)
Location (place, city, state)
Fee
Date
Presenter
Topic
Workshop Features (critiques, book fair/signing)
FMI (contact, website info)
ONLINE WORKSHOP FORMAT:
Online Workshop Name
Sponsor (chapter name)
Fee
Date
Presenter
FMI (contact, website info)
Deadlines are firm. Deadline for the August issue (which will include items with a contest deadline or conference date in September, October, or November or with an online workshop date in October) is June 1. Deadline for the September issue (which will include items with a contest deadline or conference date in October, November, or December or with an online workshop date in November) is July 1. Please follow the formats at the end of the website listings, not in the abbreviated RWR listings. Email submissions confirmed by reply—if no reply is received in 48 hours, please resend or follow up. No attachments please. Send to chapterevents@rwa.org. Thank you!