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Romance Writers of America RITA Award Winners and Suzanne Brockmann’s Boat-Rocking Lifetime Achievement Speech

Get the scoop on the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award winners and see Suzanne Brockmann's Boat-Rocking Lifetime Achievement Speech.

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The 2018 RITA Award winners were announced Thursday night at the Romance Writers of America’s annual conference gala. RITA award winnersThe RITA Award is the highest award of distinction in the romance publishing industry, recognizing excellence in published romance novels and novellas. They are self-nominated (by either author or publisher) and the first round of the competition is peer-judged. It’s named after RWA’s first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and the award is a golden statue of her. The winner and runners up for each category are:

Best First Book

Winner: Take the Lead by Alexis Daria Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel His Perfect Partner by Priscilla Oliveras The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle Waltzing with the Earl by Catherine Tinley

Contemporary Romance: Long

Winner: Falling Hard by Lexi Ryan The Dating Game by Avril Tremayne Famous by Jenny Holiday No One but You by Brenda Novak Take the Lead by Alexis Daria Tougher in Texas by Kari Lynn Dell The Whys Have It by Amy Matayo The Wingman by Natasha Anders

Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length

Winner: Tell Me by Abigail Strom The F-Word by Sandra Marton His Perfect Partner by Priscilla Oliveras Lucky Charmed by Sharla Lovelace New Leash on Life by Roxanne St. Claire Redemption by Kelly Moran Royally Wed by Teri Wilson Summer Stock by Vanessa North This Can’t Be Love by Maria Geraci You Do Something to Me (The Sullivans) by Bella Andre

Contemporary Romance: Short

Winner: Second Chance Summer by Kait Nolan The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby by Marion Lennox Christmas at the Graff by Kaylie Newell A Christmas Miracle by Amy Andrews The Cowboy Upstairs by Tanya Michaels The Doctor and the Princess by Scarlet Wilson Miracle on Chance Avenue by Jane Porter The Princess Problem by Teri Wilson The Sheikh’s Convenient Princess by Liz Fielding Troy (American Extreme Bullrider Tour #5) by Amy Andrews

Erotic Romance

Winner: Wicked Dirty by J. Kenner Constant Craving by Tamara Lush Deposition and a Dare by Evelyn Adams The Rivalry by Nikki Sloane Stud by Jamie Schmidt

Historical Romance: Long

Winner: Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean Mad for the Marquess by Jess Russell The Scandalous Flirt by Olivia Drake The Scoundrel’s Honor by Christi Caldwell

Historical Romance: Short

Winner: Waltzing with the Earl by Catherine Tinley Blame It on the Duke by Lenora Bell The Demon Duke by Margaret Locke The Rogue’s Conquest by Lily Maxton The Scandal of It All by Sophie Jordan A Scottish Lord for Christmas by Lauren Smith Within a Captain’s Soul by Lisa Olech

Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance

Winner: Now that You Mention It by Kristan Higgins The Night Mark by Tiffany Reisz Shelter the Sea by Heidi Cullinan Unloved, a Love Story by Katy Regnery

Paranormal Romance

Winner: Hunt the Darkness by Stephanie Rowe Bishop by Marie Johnston The Druid Next Door by E. J. Russell Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones Song of the Nightpiper by Hannah Meredith Spectred Isle by K. J. Charles To Enthrall the Demon Lord by Nadine Mutas Wanted and Wired by Vivien Jackson

Romance Novella

Winner: Forbidden River by Brynn Kelly “Dancing with the Duke’s Heir” in Scandal at the Christmas Ball by Bronwyn Scott Her Duke at Daybreak by Wendy LaCapra “In His Arms” in Falling: Small Town Love Anthology by Jules Dixon “The Pursuit Of…” in Hamilton’s Battalion: A Trio of Romances by Courtney Milan The Secret of My Seduction by Caroline Linden “Sweet Home Highlands” in Christmas in Kilts: A Highland Holiday Box Set by May McGoldrick Until the Sun Sets by Tara Wyatt

Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements

Winner: Then There Was You by Kara Isaac Grounded Hearts by Jeanne M. Dickson A New Shade of Summer by Nicole Deese A Note Yet Unsung by Tamera Alexander One Simple Wish by Katy Lee

Romantic Suspense

Winner: The Fixer by HelenKay Dimon Critical Instinct by Janie Crouch Guarding Mr. Fine by HelenKay Dimon Montana Heat: Escape to You by Jennifer Ryan Say You’re Sorry by Melinda Leigh Too Wilde to Tame by Tonya Burrows Touch of Red by Laura Griffin The Transporter by Liz Maverick Under Fire by Scarlett Cole https://www.instagram.com/p/BldE0ZXlsQ9/?tagged=ritagh

Young Adult Romance

Winner: Seize Today by Pintip Dunn Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle

Lifetime Achievement

At the gala, RWA also announces the recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, one of its highest honors. It’s presented to a living author to recognize significant contributions to the romance genre. The 2018 recipient is Suzanne Brockmann, author of Some Kind of Hero, Over the Edge, and many more. I’m not sure any Lifetime Achievement speech can ever top Beverly Jenkins’s from 2017, but Brockmann came close with a barn-burning speech about fighting for inclusion. https://twitter.com/courtneymilan/status/1020129194293047297 https://twitter.com/TheresaRomain/status/1020128542967902208 You can watch the full awards ceremony, including Brockmann’s speech, online.