Romance Writers of America files for bankruptcy after tumultuous split spurred by racism allegations

The Romance Writers of America has filed for bankruptcy protection after several years of infighting and allegations of racism fractured the organization, causing many of its members to flee.

The Texas-based trade association, which calls itself the voice of romance writers, has lost about 80% of its members over the past five years due to the turmoil.

Now with just 2,000 members, it can’t cover the costs it pledged to pay for its writers’ conferences, the group said in bankruptcy court documents filed Wednesday in Houston.

The organization, founded in 1980 to represent and promote writers of the best-selling genre fiction, said it owes nearly $3 million to the hotels where it planned to host its annual meetings.

Mary Ann Jock, the group’s president and author of seven published novels, said in a court filing that the problems arose “predominantly due to disputes regarding diversity, equity and inclusion” between previous board members and other members of the romance writing community. . .

Membership fell again after the annual conference was held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carollynn HG Callari, an attorney for the association, said it will not close its doors. A proposed reorganization plan filed with the court should allow the group to quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection with a healthier financial outlook, she said.

Relations within the group began to fray in 2019 over its treatment of one of its authors, a Chinese-American writer who it said violated the group’s code with negative online comments about other writers and their work. The association reversed its decision, but the uproar led to the resignation of its president and several board members.

Following allegations that it lacked diversity and was predominantly white, the organization canceled its annual awards in 2020. Several publishers, including Harlequin, Avon Books and Berkeley Romance, pulled out of the annual conference. The association later said it would present a new award in honor of Vivian Stephens, a pioneering black novelist and editor.

The following year, the association faced more anger and ended up withdrawing the award to a novel widely criticized for its sympathetic portrayal of a cavalry officer who took part in the massacre of Lakota Indians at the Battle of Wounded Knee.