Romance Writers Talk Trash, Press Release
San Francisco, July 20th — The RITA awards are the biggest prize in the romance writing world and the competition at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco has gotten ugly fast. At least, that’s what these RITA finalists want you to believe.
“The RITA awards are the romance writer equivalent of the Oscars,” New York Times Bestselling Author and RITA finalist Susan Anderson explains. But they have an image problem: no one has ever heard of them. So Anderson and her fellow finalists, including New York Times Bestseller Rachel Gibson, made a video where they talk trash, posturing for the big prize like a bunch of hyped up NBA players. They posted it on YouTube and became the talk of the town, getting over 10,000 views before they could say, “Wanna fight?”
“We wanted to find a creative way to express how important these awards are to romance writers,” New York Times Bestseller and RITA finalist Kristan Higgins explains. If the video is any indication, these women are definitely in it to win it.
“This ain’t no dress rehearsal, this is the show,” Higgins says in her best DeNiro impersonation after she’s been taunted by the more established Susan Anderson. “There’s a new alpha dog in town. Higgins is the name and I’m barking up your tree.” Higgins is up for the RITA for her book, Catch of the Day (Harlequin).
“This is the big leagues,” finalist Leslie Kelly taunts, calling Higgins a “pantser,” writer-speak for an author who doesn’t plan out a book ahead of time, thus writing by the seat of their pants. “Only plotters go all the way.” Kelly is up for the RITA for her book, She’s No Angel (Harlequin).
“This ain’t no Caldecotts,” finalist Diana Holquist explains in the video, referring to the premiere children’s book award. “This ain’t no Man-Booker,” she says dismissively, referring to the British literary awards. “This is the big time.” One in every four books sold is a romance novel, she points out, making the RITA the biggest award in the book business.
If only anyone had ever heard of it.
“We’re romance novelists. We like to have fun. We take everything we do with a bit of humor and we always, always guarantee a happy ending,” explains Holquist. “That’s what makes this video so funny. We’re used to getting no respect, and still, we’re the nicest, happiest, most fun group of writers you’ll ever meet. We’d never, ever be rude or snotty or competitive or any of those other things we pretend to be in this video. Just the fact that this video exists is proof that we all help each other and are willing to laugh at ourselves.”
On August 2nd, the RITA winners will be announced. At least one of these authors will get her happily ever after. Until then, as the announcer says in the video, these women have got game—and great shoes.
Let the battle begin.