Wednesday, July 22, 2009

RWA 2009 – Washington, D.C.

The 29th annual Romance Writers of America conference was held in Washington, D.C. last week. It was a whirlwind of workshops, booksignings, and social events. Some of the highlights for me were:

The Readers for Literacy Booksigning Wednesday night raised over $60,000 for literacy.

Janet Evanovich opened up the conference with an inspiring speech. She wrote for over 10 years before she was published.



The PRO retreat (for unpublished members who have completed manuscripts, like me) featured information on publishing from authors, agents, and an editor.

The Elements of RWA breakfast where I saw my online chapter mates in person.

The biggest thrill was the RITA/Golden Heart awards ceremony on Saturday night where my friend and conference roommate, Kim Law, won the first Golden Heart of the evening in the Best Contemporary Romance Series Manuscript category! Click here for a complete list of the winners.

photo of MCRW members celebrating after the ceremony: Betsy Gray, Lara Hansen, Kim Law (wearing the Golden Heart necklace), Rae Ann Parker, Haley Elizabeth Garwood

4 comments:

LaLa said...

OH! I need a copy of that one. The only picture I have of Sandra is really blurry and I don't have any of Betsy and Trish2. What is up with my teeth...can you say Cheezy? HA!

Rae Ann Parker said...

Lara: You have a lovely smile! And you always look great in the photos.

Anonymous said...

So great to see you at the conference! Thanks for having lunch with me. Keep me posted on your submissions :-)

Kit

Rae Ann Parker said...

Kit: It was great to see you in person again. You did a fabulous job presenting a Golden Heart at the awards ceremony! You're a natural for the stage.