President’s Letter
From the writing desk of Monica Jorgensen
Hello!
Happy New Year, Contemporary Romance Writers!
As we step into a brand-new year, I’m honored and excited to serve as your President. Contemporary Romance Writers has always been a vibrant, generous, and creative community, and it’s a privilege to help guide us into this next chapter together.
A new year invites reflection as well as possibility. We come from many different places in our writing journeys whether it’s drafting our first stories, revising WIPs, launching as an indie, getting traditionally published, or simply finding our way back to the page. Wherever you are right now, you belong here. CRW exists to support, encourage, and champion contemporary romance writers at every stage and that mission will remain at the heart of everything we do this year.
My 2026 goal for CRW is to build on the strong foundation already in place while continuing to foster connection, accessibility, and craft-focused growth. That means creating spaces where writers feel supported, heard, and inspired. Most importantly, I want CRW to feel like a community you’re excited to be part of, not just a resource, but a home. Writing can be lonely. Publishing can be challenging. But together, we are stronger, wiser, and more resilient than we are alone.
Thank you for trusting me with this role, and thank you for the passion, generosity, and creativity you bring to this organization every day. I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together in the year ahead.
Here’s to new stories, bold goals, and a year filled with connection and love, on and off the page.
Sending HEAs vibes!
Monica
2026 Board Members
President: Monica Jorgensen
Secretary: Michelle Lumpkin
V.P. of Communications: Dayna M. Reidenouer
V.P. of Workshops: Melissa Naatz
A Novel Celebration
A Novel Celebration is something we do to celebrate your wins over the past year. If you’ve complete a manuscript from December 1, 2025 to November 30, 2026, you can enter! What’s the prize, you ask? Five winners will be selected to get their 2027 membership free! You can find out the rules and how to enter below.
New Members
Please join me in extending a big, warm welcome to our newest members of CRW:
- Bailey Thomas
- Larissa Gardner
Writing Sprints
Join in on our CRW-led writing sprints. We share reminders in the member Facebook Group and Slack.
Every Tuesday: 9am ET | 8am CT | 7am MT | 6am PT
Sprints with Tanya on Zoom
Every Thursday: 7pm ET | 6pm CT | 5pm MT | 4pm PT
Sprints with Shannon on Zoom
Want to run sprints at a different day/time? Let us know!
Upcoming Workshops
Invest in your own growth as a writer this year! Here is the lineup of workshops we have for January 2026. Members attend at a discounted price!
| Workshop Track | CRW Member Price | Non-Member Price |
|---|---|---|
| General Track (Craft, Business) | $20 CRW Member | $30 Non-Member |
| Advanced Track | $30 CRW Member | $40 Non-Member |
| Members Only | FREE for CRW Members | N/A |
Hacked to Hijacked: How to Protect Your Author Platform
Nicole R. Locker
Member New Releases
Have a new release? Share it on our site and in an upcoming Member Newsletter here, and be sure to take a look at all the new books from CRW members in 2025.
Author: Kasey Kennedy
Release Date: Dec. 30, 2025
Author Website: https://www.kasey-kennedy.com