2003 RITA® Winners

The Romance Writers of America award the RITA each year.

Best First Book

• Shades Of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom

• Finalists:
  • Falling Star by Diana Dempsey
  • The Baby Plan by Susan Gable
  • Wedding At White Sands by Catherine Mann
  • Danger's Promise by Marliss Moon
  • A Perilous Attraction by Patricia Frances Rowell
  • Silver Dagger by T.L. Sinclare

Best Traditional Romance

• The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber

• Finalists:
  • True Love, Inc. by Jackie Braun
  • A Millionaire For Molly by Marion Lennox
  • A Royal Proposition by Marion Lennox
  • Finding Her Prince by Lilian Darcy
  • City Girl In Training by Liz Fielding
  • The Tycoon's Takeover by Liz Fielding

Best Short Contemporary Series

• Taming The Outlaw by Cindy Kay Gerard

• Finalists:
  • Take Me by Cherry Adair
  • Private Investigations by Tori Carrington
  • The Doctor's Mistress by Lilian Darcy
  • Two To Tangle by Leslie Kelly
  • Taming Blackhawk by Barbara McCauley
  • Lazaro's Revenge by Jane Porter
  • Good Time Girl by Candace Schuler
  • Two Catch A Fox by Isabel Sharpe

Best Long Contemporary Series

• Taking Cover by Catherine Mann

• Finalists:
  • What The Heart Wants by Jean Brashear
  • What A Woman Wants by Tori Carrington
  • Seduced By The Enemy by Jamie Denton
  • Capturing Cleo by Linda Winstead Jones
  • Wedding At White Sands by Catherine Mann
  • Babes In Arms by Kathleen O'Brien
  • The Secret Son by Tara Taylor Quinn

Best Paranormal Romance

• Contact by Susan Grant

• Finalists:
  • The Charm Stone by Donna Kauffman
  • The Forest Lord by Susan Krinard
  • Twilight Hunger by Maggie Shayne

Best Inspirational Romance

• Never Say Goodbye by Irene Hannon

• Finalists:
  • Ruth by Lori Copeland
  • Firstborn by Robin Lee Hatcher
  • Whirlpool by Lorena McCourtney
  • Summer Shadows by Gayle Roper
  • Gifts Of Love by Crystal Stovall

Best Romantic Novella

• "To Kiss In The Shadows" by Lynn Kurland, from Tapestry

• Finalists:
  • "A Rancher" by Leanne Banks, from In The Stocking
  • "The Bed Is Made" by Connie Brockway, from Once Upon A Pillow
  • "The Bed Is Unmade" by Christina Dodd, from Once Upon A Pillow
  • "Kismet" by Fiona Brand, from Sheiks Of Summer
  • "The Breeding Season" by Lisa Cach, from A Mother's Way
  • "An Interrupted Tapestry" by Madeline Hunter, from Tapestry

Best Regency Romance

• A Debt To Delia by Barbara Metzger

• Finalists:
  • The Former Fiance by Teresa DesJardien
  • The Errant Earl by Amanda McCabe
  • Kissing Cousins by Nadine Miller
  • The Storybook Hero by Andrea Pickens

Best Short Historical Romance

• The Bride Fair by Cheryl Reavis

• Finalists:
  • Embrace The Sun by Linda Lea Castle
  • The Willing Wife by Claudia Dain
  • Shades Of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom
  • The Colonel's Daughter by Merline Lovelace
  • Tess And The Highlander by May McGoldrick
  • The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas
  • Diamond In The Rough by Patricia Waddell

Best Long Historical Romance

• Stealing Heaven by Madeline Hunter

• Finalists:
  • A Summer To Remember by Mary Balogh
  • Lost In Your Arms by Christina Dodd
  • Tempted By Your Touch by Jen Holling
  • Magnolia Creek by Jill Marie Landis
  • Prairie Moon by Maggie Osborne
  • Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Best Romantic Suspense

• Three Fates by Nora Roberts

• Finalists:
  • Hush by Anne Frasier
  • Wild At Heart by Jane Graves
  • Purity In Death by J.D. Robb
  • Reunion In Death by J. D. Robb
  • Someone Knows by Karen Young

Best Contemporary Single Title

• No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel

• Finalists:
  • The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot
  • Twice Burned by Jan Coffey
  • Once Upon A Wedding by Kathleen Eagle
  • Love In Bloom's by Judith Arnold
  • The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
  • Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts