Inside the rise and fall of one of the world’s most powerful writing groups

At its peak in the mid-2010s, the Romance Writers of America had around 10,000 members. Ekaterina Markelova/iStock via Getty Images by Christine Larson, University of Colorado Boulder The Romance Writers of America, once the world’s largest and most powerful authors’ association, filed for bankruptcy on May 30, 2024. In its filing, the nonprofit blamed “disputes concerning diversity, equity and inclusion” for its membership declining by a jaw-dropping 80%. With just 2,000 members left, the organization finds itself unable to pay US$3 million in hotel commitments for future conferences. I’ve spent a decade studying romance publishing, and I believe the rise and fall of the Romance Writers of America shows how quickly organizations can collapse if they don’t serve the needs of all their members. This debacle could serve as a warning to universities, companies and other groups now abolishing and scaling back inclusion efforts. A home for struggling writers In my new book, “Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success,” I show how a decades-long failure to redress institutional racism undermined this once-powerful group. The Romance Writers of America was founded in 1980 by Vivian Stephens, who was then one of...