Romance Writers of America® (RWA)

The Romance Writers of America® (RWA) is a non-profit trade association that advocates for the careers of romance authors.

History of the Romance Writers of America
The RWA was conceived in 1980, when 37 romance writers united with the intention of forming a group that would nurture and support their careers writing romance books.

The first annual RWA Conference was held in June 1981 near Houston, Texas and was a rousing success: nearly six dozen manuscripts were sold to romance publishers.


About Romance Writers of America Today
Romance Writers of America, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is dedicated to the support of romance writers (including all romance subgenres). With over 10,000 members worldwide (over 2000 of them published authors), the RWA has a presence in 31 countries. RWA's efforts on behalf of its membership include:


Networking - RWA facilitates information exchange and support between romance writers through it 145 local, online and RWA special interest chapters.

Advocacy and outreach - to the romance publishing industry, romance reader fan base and librarian communities.

Recognition - through its numerous awards programs, the RWA recognized excellence in the romance genre for writers and industry supporters.

Education - RWA supports career-focused romance authors by helping to enhance skills such as "how to" romance novel writing through general book marketing and other useful writer skills.

Research - Romance Writers of America provides annual academic grants which support academic research around romance novels.

A focal point of the efforts is the annual RWA Conference.