President’s Letter
From the writing desk of Nicole R. Locker
Dear CRW Members,
We’re excited to extend a warm welcome to our newest members to CRW: Tara Baisden, Brandy Schratter, Roseanne Smiles, Tricia Quinnies, Lia van Rooden, Tamara MC, Layla Nash, Marguerite Polos, and Seina Wedlick. Welcome, everyone!
Announcements
Register Now! CRW Western US Writing Retreat
October 21-23, 2022
Writing Workshops with Laurie Schnebly-Campbell
Learn More
Virtual Writing Conference
July 9-10, 2022 (FREE for CRW Members!)
Masterclass add-on with Jane Friedman on July 8, 2022 (discounted for CRW Members!)
Register Now! (use discount code MEMBER2022)
Learn More about the conference, sessions, speakers, and more here.
CRW ACCEPTING DOOR PRIZE DONATIONS FOR SUMMER CONFERENCE
If you would like to donate a door prize for the 2022 Contemporary Romance Virtual Writing Conference, please complete the form here.
MEMBER FORUMS: If you haven’t already, join the CRW Member Forum on Slack so that you do not miss questions, opportunities, and helpful resources shared by other members.
We created a short tutorial to get you started if you are new to Slack. Watch the getting started tutorial here.
Industry News
submitted by Pamela Ferguson
Disclaimer: CRW does not endorse any of the websites, businesses, or news sources mentioned. Articles are provided for information purposes only. Articles are free or are hosted on websites that provide limited free article access each month. Complete urls are included so readers know what they are clicking on.
News Highlights
“14 great new romance books you should read,” polygon.com, March 28, 2022, https://www.polygon.com/22993288/best-romance-books-novels
“76 Romance Novels for When You Need a Little Spice,” popsugar.com, April 5, 2022, https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/best-romance-novels-2022-48659798
“8 Best Online Image Optimizer Tools Compared (Real Test Data), themeisle.com, February 23, 2022, https://themeisle.com/blog/best-online-image-optimizer-tools/
“Barnes & Noble Embraces BookTok,” goodereader.com, March 18, 2022, https://goodereader.com/blog/bookselling/barnes-noble-embraces-booktok
“Creators on the Cusp: Mariko Tamaki makes and curates LGBTQ-focused graphic novels,” npr.org, March 30, 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/03/30/1089635307/creators-on-the-cusp-mariko-tamaki-makes-and-curates-lgbtq-focused-graphic-novel
“Why reading romance might just be at the heart of what men need,” wbur.org, April 1, 2022, https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/04/01/men-romance-novels
Upcoming Pitch Opportunities
Ready to put your manuscript in front of agents and editors? Here are some upcoming pitch opportunities. Some are free. Some require registering for an online conference. New pitch events are announced all the time, so check publisher, agent, and conference social media sites for more information. Also be sure to search #MSWL (Manuscript Wish List) on Twitter from time to time. You never know what editors will post!
May 2022
Pitch Perfect at FOLD 2022 – Festival of Literary Diversity, Brampton, Canada – May 1-7, 2022
https://thefoldcanada.org/uncategorized/pitch-perfect-at-fold-2022-faqs/
Philadelphia Writing Workshop, May 6-7, 2022 (online conference)
https://philadelphiawritingworkshop.com/
July 2022
Pitch Slam – Part of Writer’s Digest Annual Conference – New York City, July 28-31, 2022
https://writersdigestconference.com/pitch-slam/
Other Upcoming Events
Bookstore Romance Day – August 20, 2022
Please send industry news topics you’d like included in the CRW newsletter to Pamela Ferguson on the CRW Slack channel or via a Facebook DM.
Upcoming CRW Events
Writing Sprints
Every Tuesday: 12pm ET | 11am CT | 10am MT | 9am PT
Sprints with Tanya on Zoom
Every Thursday: 10:30pm ET | 9:30pm CT | 8:30pm MT | 7:30pm PT
Sprints with Nicky on Zoom
Every Saturday: 12pm ET | 11am CT | 10am MT | 9am PT
Sprints with Michelle on Zoom
Want to run sprints at a different day/time? Let us know!
Member New Releases
Lexie Nicholas
Release Date: March 19, 2022
Jennilynn Wyer
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Zee Irwin
Release Date: April 15, 2022
Amber Cross
Release Date: May 4, 2022
May Workshops
Registration is still open!
Peter Andrews
May 1-31
Diane K. Peterson
May 1-31
Mary Buckham
May 14
Jen Graybeal
May 21