Romance Writers of America (RWA) Awards

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Each year Romance Writers of America (RWA) presents awards in various categories to the best romance fiction published in the previous calendar year. In 2021 the award was renamed to recognize the founder of RWA, Vivian Stephens. This award is the highest honor a romance author can receive. Published authors, reviewers, bloggers, and others knowledgeable about the romance industry are selected from applicants to participate in the judging. The finalists are announced in late March. Winners are announced at RWA's Annual Conference held during the summer. From 1990-2019, the award was called the RITA®, named after Rita Clay Estrada, the first president of RWA. Winners were presented with a gold statue. From its introduction in 1982 until 1989, the award was known as the Golden Medallion.

Vivian Winners & Finalists

RITA® Winners & Finalists

Golden Medallion Winners & Finalists

Vivian / RITA® / Golden Medallion / Categories

The categories for the highest honor from Romance Writers of America have evolved and changed over the years in order to better reflect the changing romance market. The year indicated is the first year the category was included in the awards. If it appears that a category was changed or renamed, the original category is grouped with the current category.

RITA® Authors

For a list of authors who have won RITA awards, see category:RITA Winners.