Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2024
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The organization filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged membership decline and significant convention-related contractual liabilities.
2020
RITA cancellation and conference boycott
Judges and authors withdrew from the RITA, while major publishers said they would not support or attend the conference amid concerns about RWA's approach to diversity and inclusion.
2019
Courtney Milan ethics case
RWA imposed and quickly rescinded severe sanctions against Courtney Milan after criticism of the disciplinary process. The affair prompted block resignations by directors and the resignation of the president.
2015
Controversy over For Such a Time
Kate Breslin's RITA-finalist novel was criticized for its treatment of a Holocaust-era relationship involving a Nazi commandant and a Jewish prisoner who converted to Christianity.
2005
Debate over heterosexual definition of romance
A member poll asking whether the bylaws should define romance as a relationship between a woman and a man triggered protests and was ultimately abandoned.