RWA Is Having A Party

All kinds of things going on in the blogosphere so today will be a multi-post day.

Some of you may already be aware that the Romance Writers of America (RWA) are holding their National Conference in Dallas from July 11 to 14 this year.

To appreciate the event, you need to understand the scope of RWA. Founded in 1980 in Houston, the organization now has 9,500 members and 144 chapters. Last year's conference, which was held in Atlanta, broke attendance records with over 2,100 writers and readers in attendance.

Just in case any of you are sneering at romance, take a look at these statistics regarding romance novels:

$1.2 billion in sales each year

54.9% of all popular mass-market fiction sold

39.3% of all fiction sold

RWA reports: "With the expansion of romance novels into science fiction and military tales, . . . male readership jumped from 7 percent of romance readers in 2002 to 22 percent in 2004."

I'm just guessing here, but I'd be willing to bet that most of those male readers are reading the erotic romance sub-genre {grin}.

As you may know, I was one of the founders of the RWA erotic romance chapter, Passionate Ink (PI). Passionate Ink will be hosting its second annual luncheon at the Hyatt Regency on Friday during the conference--RWA is hosting a box lunch that same day, but the cost of the box lunch is NOT included in the conference registration fee.

Seats at the PI luncheon are limited to the first 200 paid reservations, with Inkers paying $15 for lunch and non-Inkers paying $30. I handled registrations for the lunch last year. We sold out in less than a month and ran a waiting list right up until the morning of the luncheon.

My agent is Jacky Sach of BookEnds Literary Agency (see their blog here). Jacky's partner, Jessica Faust, will be one of the speakers at the PI luncheon.

I'll be attending the conference this year--my first--along with my good friend, Marie Tuhart. The conference isn't cheap. Early bird registration (good until May 27) is $325 for RWA members and $405 for non-members. The cost jumps by $50 after May 27. And that doesn't include your hotel room. Even though I live in the area, I'll be staying at the Hyatt Regency that week.

These folk know how to throw a party. To read a copy of the program supplement, go here.

If you're planning to attend RWA National, drop me a line at mayareynoldswriter@sbcglobal.net. I'd love to meet you.

Read on for the other post for today.