History
Founded in 1980 in Houston, Texas by 37 authors in the romance genre, including Rita Clay Estrada and Parris Afton Bonds, first President and Vice President, the RWA has long been an advocacy group for their published members. It has persuaded Harlequin books to register copyrights for authors' works and to allow writers to own their own pseudonyms. Previously, authors were forced to leave their pseudonym behind if they switched publishing houses, making it more difficult for their fans to follow. The current mission statement indicates that the purpose of the RWA is to "advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy."
In 2000, the RWA had an operating budget of over $1 million, the largest of any professional genre writers' organization. As of 2007, the organization had over 9,000 members and over 150 chapters. These include chapters arranged geographically as well as special-interest online chapters that focus on themes such as medical romance. Approximately 2,000 of the members have had books published.
Read more about this topic: Romance Writers Of America
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