erastes

So I finally had a look at the finalists for the RITAs.

Good Lord.

Just as well they allowed Harlequin/Mills & Boon back in, after threatening to dump them as an official publisher, or they’d have about three books on the short list.

And no surprise that there’s not one GLBTQ title on the entire list. Not that i can see, anyway – if I’m wrong, I’ll be happy to be corrected. However, I didn’t see the nominations, so I don’t even know if there were any GLBT books even put forward.

Another year goes by and I feel that – with RWA – we are going backwards. At least last year there was discussion about it, complaints raised etc etc – this year, RWA once again ignores a huge proportion of their readers, and a smallish chunk of their membership – including an ENTIRE chapter – and no-one says anything? Or have I missed where it’s been discussed? How are these people getting away with this discrimination? It just wouldn’t be allowed in the UK. What is the motivation, the REASON for the exclusion? I’m baffled.

What strikes me is that it seems to be that the RWA are thinking – oh well, we’ve let THEM have a chapter of their own and have graciously accepted them into the mothership, and we’ve even allowed them to have their own awards, so that should be good enough. This may not be the case, but it really looks that way from the outside.

However, it’s good to see Ellora’s Cave there, at least.

HOWEVER – the Rainbow Chapter has an award for any book with an ISBN published in 2009, and the details are here – you don’t need to be a member of RWA, either.