E-Newsletter | Issue: 2026-02-01

President’s Letter

From the writing desk of Monica Jorgensen

Hello!

We made it past January. Whew! February has entered the chat with candles, chaos, and characters who absolutely refuse to communicate their feelings until page 312. If you’re juggling deadlines, daydreams, and at least one fictional couple living rent-free in your head then welcome. You’re among friends.

We have a bunch of things in store for all of you. This month introduces our first article from our new Publishing Partner, Editor Tony Le Calvez. Tony will be contributing to the newsletter for four months, hosting a webinar and participating in two live chats on Facebook. Keep an eye out for dates and times. We are very excited about this new adventure. 

This month will also introduce President’s Pick. Each month I invite you to read with me and then participate in a book chat. This month’s book is Romance Your Brand – Building a Marketable Genre Fiction Series by Zoe York. On February 28th at 10am Central Time (8am Pacific Time, 9am Mountain Time, 11am Eastern Time), join the zoom and let’s chat about the book and everything series related. I am writing my first series and would love to hear all your suggestions. 😀

Until next time, be kind to yourself, write the scenes that make your heart race, and remember, if your characters are being difficult, it just means the chemistry is working. Happy writing. You’ve got this.

Sending HEAs vibes!

Monica

Publishing Partner

Tony Le Calvez – Editor

The Benefit of Community

Hello Contemporary Romance Writers (CRW), my name is Tony Le Calvez and I am honored to be the first Publishing Partner of 2026. Throughout my writing experience, I have been consistently reminded of what I consider to be the fundamental goal of the invention of writing: community. Whether you’re communicating an idea, telling a story, or crafting an argument, the purpose of writing is to interact in some way with other people. My professor of composition and rhetoric, Rev. Dr. Holland Prior, put it simply: Writing is social.

As I share my expertise and knowledge of editing with you these next four months, the most important thing I would like to impart to you is that writing is inherently a social activity that requires a mindfulness of the relationship between the writer and the audience. I mean, what is a writer without a reader? And more relevant, what is a writer without an editor?

The best thing you can do to edit your manuscript is surrender it to somebody else. Someone you trust to read it, critique it fairly, and offer you detailed feedback on what elements of your manuscript are and aren’t working. The phrase, “you are your own worst critic,” is absolutely right, but not because of perfectionism, but because as a writer, you lack the objectivity to correctly critique your own work. Writing is a labor of love, and nobody spends days, weeks, months of time and effort working on a manuscript, not loving their work like their own child. And simultaneously, no one will call their own child ugly. That’s what great-aunts are for. But in writing, you just need an editor.

An editor doesn’t necessarily have to have professional skills or charge exorbitant fees to be “good,” but what you actually want is a good reader. Someone that is reading genuinely, with detail, and in good-conscience. Contrarily, you don’t want an editor to be too nice and shower you with praise, because let’s face it, they’re doing you a disservice if they’re glossing over errors in order to spare your feelings. 

Finding a good editor may require trial-and-error. Maybe their criticism is good, but delivered in too harsh of a tone. Or maybe they’re great at catching grammar mistakes, but totally ignore structure and pacing. Finding someone who works well for you, and building a working relationship with them, is how you elevate your compositions into a craft.

Finally, if you are a conscientious writer, offer yourself as an editor to your writing friends. The CRW exists in order to foster relationships between writers and provide a shared space where like-minded individuals can lift each other up collectively. As a writer, you probably have a keener eye than most for editing, formed from your experience drafting and revising your own work. By offering yourself as a preliminary reader to your contemporaries, you can benefit your writing community, but also yourself. When I became an editor, I began to read my own work as an editor, and discovered I was recognizing in my own work, the mistakes I identified in others. 

Over the next few months in newsletters and workshops, I will share the tools on how to recognize mistakes in your manuscript, how to communicate them, and how to correct those errors in order to better your own work before you submit it. But along the way, always remember that writing is social. 

2026 Board Members

President: Monica Jorgensen
Secretary: Michelle Lumpkin
V.P. of Communications: Dayna M. Reidenouer
V.P. of Workshops: Melissa Naatz

Board Actions: Notice of Treasurer Appointment

To ensure the continued operation of Contemporary Romance Writers Association (CRW), the Board of Directors will appoint a Treasurer to fill the currently vacant position.

An election for the Treasurer position was held in October 2025. We had no candidates volunteer for the role. Because the Treasurer position is required for CRW to continue conducting financial and organizational business, the Board will proceed with an appointment to prevent operational disruption.

Members who wish to submit a written objection to this appointment may do so by Feb. 15, 2026 by submitting their objection in writing to The President of the CRW president@contemporaryromance.org. All submitted objections will be reviewed by the Board prior to the appointment.

The appointment will take place on Feb. 22, 2026. The appointee is CRW member Emily Rex.

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:

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Event Calendar

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!

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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

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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 2026.