14 July 2007

Since RWA is on the mind this week

Oh, but let's look at the current RITA debacle, since we're on the subject. You probably know that RWA has just refused to add one or more erotic categories to the RITA. They state that books with sexual content can enter anywhere, but they can't. Why not? Because National defines a romance as two people...at least a change from one man and one woman, but... Erotic romance allows for poly relationships, which National excludes from being romance. So, no... Some erotic books are cordially DISinvited from entering RITA on the basis that they are not romance by National's standards, even if their publishers are recognized and all of that.

2 comments:

Deb said...

Romance SHOULD, IMO, be one man/one woman. There are other slots for different sorts of relationships. This is MY OPINION and I'll probably get flamed for it. But as a romance buying reader, I don't wanta pick up a book in the "romance" section and find the book to be anything other than one guy & one girl.

RWA did a poll some time ago, about "what should 'romance' include?" That done, they were not man/woman enough to post the results.

I suspect the results were not politically correct, and therefore suppressed. A large and ugly comment period in the RWR and on blogs followed, most dissing one-guy/one-girl adherents as homophobic frothing-at-the-mouth loonies who ought to be jailed.

Pah. Such diatribes are better left uncommented upon. Least said was that RWA should've had the cojones to publish the members' opinions as stated in its poll, and let us decide.

I may disrespect your opinion, but I respect with every cell in my body your right to have it.

Mari said...

I think the point is there should be an erotic romance category so those judging would know of the content, thus not be offended or shocked and judged for quality of the genre so widely popular right now.

I don't know what to say about the one man-one woman thing. I prefer to write & read m/f relationships, but that is just me. However there are many romances out there featuring other variations than m/f couples and should be allowed in the RITAs.