2001 RITA® Winners

The Romance Writers of America award the RITA each year.

Best First Book

• A Man Like Mac by Fay Robinson

• Finalists:
  • By Arrangement by Madeline Hunter, Bantam
  • Cowboy For Keeps by Kristi Gold, Silhouette Desire
  • In The Shadow Of The Moon by Karen White, Dorchester
  • My Champion by Glynnis Campbell, Berkley
  • Passing By Samaria by Sharon Ewell Foster, Multnomah
  • Reilly's Law by Elizabeth Keys, Kensington
  • Remember The Night by Linda Castillo, Silhouette Intimate Moments
  • Ties Of Love by Anita Wall, Kensington

Best Traditional Romance

• The Best Man & The Bridesmaid by Liz Fielding, Harlequin Romance

• Finalists:
  • The Bride's Proposition by Day Leclaire, Harlequin Romance
  • The Lyon's Den by Selina Sinclair, Harlequin Duets
  • Mixing Business...With Baby by Diana Whitney, Silhouette Romance
  • To Marry A Sheikh by Day Leclaire, Harlequin Romance
  • Tom Bradley's Babies by Marion Lennox, Tender Romance

Best Short Contemporary Series

• It Takes A Rebel by Stephanie Bond, Harlequin Temptation

• Finalists:
  • Callan's Proposition by Barbara McCauley, Silhouette Desire
  • First Comes Love by Elizabeth Bevarly, Silhouette Desire
  • In Name Only by Peggy Moreland, Silhouette Desire
  • Moonlighting by Heather MacAllister, Harlequin Temptation
  • Out Of The Blue by Jill Shalvis, Harlequin Temptation
  • Rough And Rugged by Colleen Collins, Harlequin Duets
  • The Taming Of Tyler Kincaid by Sandra Marton, Harlequin Presents

Best Long Contemporary Series

• Rogue's Reform by Marilyn Pappano, Silhouette Intimate Moments

• Finalists:
  • Beginning With Baby by Christie Ridgway, Silhouette Special Edition
  • The Brands Who Came For Christmas by Maggie Shayne, Silhouette Intimate Moments
  • The Comeback Of Con MacNeill by Virginia Kantra, Silhouette Intimate Moments
  • The Daughter Merger by Janice Kay Johnson, Harlequin Superromance
  • The Fourth Child by C.J. Carmichael, Harlequin Superromance
  • Get Lucky by Suzanne Brockmann, Silhouette Intimate Moments
  • Mad Dog And Annie by Virginia Kantra, Silhouette Intimate Moments
  • Saving Grace by Rae Anne Thayne, Silhouette Intimate Moments

Best Paranormal Romance

• The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning, Bantam

• Finalists:
  • Catch A Fallen Angel by Kathleen Kane, St. Martin's
  • Dark Angel by Christine Feehan, Dorchester
  • In The Shadow Of The Moon by Karen White, Dorchester
  • Prince Of Time by Glenna McReynolds, Bantam
  • The Star King by Susan Grant, Dorchester

Best Inspirational Romance

• The Shepherd's Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher, WaterBrook Press

• Finalists:
  • Awakening Mercy by Angela Benson, Tyndale
  • The Negotiator by Dee Henderson, Multnomah
  • Passing By Samaria by Sharon Ewell Foster, Multnomah
  • True Devotion by Dee Henderson, Multnomah
  • When Joy Came To Stay by Karen Kingsbury, Multnomah

Best Romantic Novella

• "Final Approach to Forever" from Special Report, by Merline Lovelace, Silhouette Intimate Moments

• Finalists:
  • "Baby It's Cold Outside" from Millennium Baby by Kristine Rolofson, Harlequin Temptation
  • "The Enchantment" from Once Upon A Dream by Ruth Ryan Langan, Berkley
  • "In Dreams" from Once Upon A Dream by Nora Roberts, Berkley

Best Regency Romance

• A Grand Design by Emma Jensen

• Finalists:
  • Once Upon A Christmas by Diane Farr, Signet
  • Saved By Scandal by Barbara Metzger, Signet
  • The Ramshackle Suitor by Nancy Butler, Signet
  • Lord Nightingale's Debut by Judith A. Lansdowne, Kensington

Best Short Historical Romance

• The Mistress by Susan Wiggs

• Finalists:
  • Donovan's Bed by Debra Mullins, Avon
  • Dove's Way by Linda Francis Lee, Ballantine
  • The Duke And I by Julia Quinn, Avon
  • The Gentleman Thief by Deborah Simmons, Harlequin Historicals
  • The Last Bride In Texas by Judith Stacy, Harlequin Historicals
  • Never Kiss A Duke by Eileen Putman, Avon
  • Silk And Steel by Kathleen Martin, St. Martin's

Best Long Historical Romance

Devilish by Jo Beverley

• Finalists:
  • Here Comes The Bride by Pamela Morsi, Avon
  • I Do, I Do, I Do by Maggie Osborne, Ballantine
  • Midnight Pleasures by Eloisa James, Delacorte
  • Silver Lining by Maggie Osborne, Ballantine
  • The Stone Maiden by Susan King, Putnam
  • The Sun And The Moon by Patricia Ryan, NAL
  • The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, Avon

Best Romantic Suspense

• Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts, Berkley

• Finalists:
  • Blade's Lady by Fiona Brand, Silhouette Intimate Moments
  • Brown-Eyed Girl by Mariah Stewart, Pocket
  • Renegade Heart by Gayle Wilson, Harlequin Intrigue
  • Witness In Death by J.D. Robb, Berkley

Best Contemporary Single Title

• First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

• Finalists:
  • In The Midnight Rain by Ruth Wind, HarperCollins
  • Kiss And Tell by Ballantine
  • Twelve Days by Teresa Hill, Signet
  • The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann, Ballantine
  • The Wrong Child by Patricia Kay, Berkley