Help Honor the Pioneers Who Shaped Romance Literature

Sponsor A Legend

Imagine a world without the stirring tales of love that have touched our hearts and inspired our dreams. The landscape of romance literature, rich with passion and resilience, has been profoundly shaped by the legends whose works have transcended time and trends.

These pioneers have not only crafted stories that celebrate the human spirit but have also paved the way for new voices in the genre. Their narratives have championed diversity, pushed creative boundaries, and sparked a love for reading that has united communities across generations.

However, many of these influential figures now face financial challenges that could prevent them from attending this year's Romance Readers and Writers Event (RRAW), where we aim to celebrate and honor their legacy. The opportunity for them to participate, to share their wisdom, and to engage with fans old and new, is invaluable—not just for them but for all of us in the romance community.

This is where we need your support.

**We are establishing a fund to ensure that financial constraints do not hinder these legends from attending RRAW.** Your contribution will cover travel and accommodation expenses, allowing these trailblazers to take their rightful place at the event. By supporting this fund, you are not just sponsoring a trip; you are affirming the value of their life's work and enabling the continuation of their influence.

Here's what your support can achieve:

- **Connect the past and present:** Enable legends to engage directly with current and emerging writers, fostering a unique exchange of ideas and inspiration.

- **Celebrate achievements:** Provide a platform for these pioneers to be publicly recognized, offering them the ovation they so richly deserve.

- **Inspire the future:** Encourage the next generation by demonstrating the enduring impact of their contributions to literature and culture.

We believe that the presence of these legends will elevate the entire event, creating moments of learning and inspiration that will resonate far beyond our gathering. Every donation, no matter the size, will contribute significantly to achieving this goal.

Please join us in making sure that every legendary voice has the chance to be heard. Together, we can honor their contributions and ensure their stories continue to inspire.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a meaningful difference.

Warmest regards,

Shay Bohannon

Founder/Co-Chair

www.rrawexperience.com

This years recipients:

Wayne Jordan

Wayne Jordan, an extraordinary author of Contemporary Romance. Wayne is not only a prolific writer but also a visionary who founded Romance in Color, a groundbreaking website dedicated to reviewing romance novels written by African American authors. His work has provided a platform for voices that might otherwise have gone unheard, enriching the genre with diverse and vibrant stories.

Wayne's contributions go beyond his own writing. He has been a tireless advocate for inclusivity and representation in romance literature, ensuring that all love stories, especially those from African American perspectives, are given the recognition they deserve. His dedication and passion have left an indelible mark on the genre and on all of us who have had the pleasure of reading his work.

Emma Rodger

Emma Rodgers co-founded **Black Images Book Bazaar** in 1977, a pioneering mail order business that grew into a beloved retail bookstore in Dallas, Texas. The store became a cornerstone for African American literature, championing the works of authors like J. California Cooper, Edward P. Jones, E. Lynn Harris, and Edward Ball.

In 1995, Rodgers founded Romance Slam Jam, a groundbreaking conference dedicated to celebrating African American romance literature. Her contributions extended internationally when she joined the U.S. Information Agency Corridors of Culture team in 1996, presenting at the "Muse to Marketplace" symposium across Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Even after Black Images Book Bazaar closed in 2006, Rodgers continued her literary advocacy by organizing book signings and community events. She has served four terms on the Dallas City Planning and Zoning Commission since 2007, demonstrating her commitment to civic engagement.

Rodgers has been a dynamic force in her community, holding positions such as a board member for TeCo Theatrical Productions, director for the Dallas Civil Rights Center, and publicist for the Irma P. Hall Theater Arts Festival. She has also been instrumental in enriching the lives of young girls through ROPP, Inc., and fostering literary discussion through her monthly book club.

Emma Rodgers' lifelong dedication to promoting African American literature and supporting her community makes her a truly deserving honoree. Her work has left an enduring legacy, inspiring both readers and writers across the globe.

Mary Cadden

Mary Cadden was instrumental in expanding the scope and inclusivity of the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books List during her tenure as editor. Under her leadership, she championed efforts to ensure the list reflected the evolving literary landscape by amplifying diverse voices from various communities. Through the 2009 redesign, she introduced enhanced data sourcing methods, allowing for more accurate and comprehensive reporting of sales, particularly for books by authors from underrepresented backgrounds.

Mary recognized the importance of showcasing a broader array of stories that resonated with readers across different ethnicities, cultures, and experiences. This effort resulted in an increased visibility of works from African American, Latinx, LGBTQ+, and other minority authors. By prioritizing data that captured the sales of both indie and traditionally published works, she helped ensure that the list not only represented mainstream bestsellers but also spotlighted unique and diverse narratives that may have been overlooked.

In addition to refining the data collection process, Mary actively contributed to USA TODAY’s book reviews and reporting, where she advocated for coverage of books by diverse authors. Her involvement in social media engagement also helped bring attention to emerging voices, ensuring that the Best-Selling Books List became a true reflection of the readers’ interests across the U.S.

Margie Walker

Margie Walker is the author of 14 novels (11 romance, romantic suspense and mystery titles with Kensington and the now defunct Marron Publishers) and three self-published — “A Slice of Reparations” mystery, In Blood Only romantic suspense (also directed the short video) and Stolen Moments, a psychological romantic suspense.

Since winning the Spirit of Moondance at the 2012 Moondance International Film Festival for the short screenplay “Tryin’ Times” (also produced the short video on Vimeo), Margie committed to learning the craft of screenwriting and film making. She was a Second Rounder at the 2017 Austin Film Festival with “Plum Blossoms,” and recently edited the feature screenplay “The Sound of Glass” by the talented writer/director Ricardo Bates.

Margie is a graduate of Texas Southern University with degrees in Speech Communication. She did post graduate studies at Colorado State University (communication) and University of Houston (anthropology).

Carmen Green

Carmen Green began writing in 1994 and sold her first novel Now or Never, to Kensington Publishing. Since 1994, Carmen has sold more than fourteen books and novellas. Her 1998 release, Keeping Secrets made EMERGE magazines bestsellers list.

Commitments released August 1998, was adapted into a BET TV movie starring Allen Payne, Victoria Dillard and Virginia Capers. The movie would become the highest rated movie to air on BET in 2001.

Carmen's success continued as she wrote in the anthology MIDNIGHT CLEAR for Genesis Press, and then in 2001 island Bliss and SISTER, SISTER for St. Martin's Press.

She continued to write for BET, expanding her hugely successful family the Crawford's by penning ENDLESS LOVE, which featured the Arabesque Man, Doctor Harold Jackson, followed in 2002 by her book DOCTOR, DOCTOR.

Carmen's first Women's Fiction book ATLANTA LIVE, was published in 2003 and later became #4 in the Romance Writer's of America Favorite Book of the Year contest for 2003.

Carmen's career continues to grow with her next Women's Fiction release, DATE NIGHT, in September 2004 from BET.

Donna Hill

(Jackson Jenkins Lifetime Acheivement Award Recipients)

Donna Hill began her career writing novels in 1987, writing True Confessions,[4] and has since published more than seventy novels and received the RT Career Achievement Award for her books.[5][6]

In 2009 she launched the e-book venture InnerVision Publishing together with author Pittershawn Palmer, with the intention of focusing on multicultural books

Hill's first romance novel, Rooms of the Heart, was published by Odyssey Books in 1990.[8]

Her sixth novel, Intimate Betrayal, is about Reese, who has lived with repressed-memoria amnesia ever since she lost her parents violently. Her memory gets triggered when she meets Maxwell and learns that their fathers were colleagues working for military intelligence. It was published by Harlequin Kimani Arabesque in 1997.[9] Intimate Betrayal was adapted for screen as a TV movie for the BET network, starring Monica Calhoun, Khalil Kain, and Erica Gimpel in 1999

Vivian Stephens (RRAW Hall of Fame)

Vivian Stephens entered the world of romance fiction in 1978 as an editor at Dell. She was given charge of the Candlelight line of romances, despite having no experience with romance fiction previously. A Black editor in a predominantly white industry, Stephens sought to incorporate the voices of women of color into the burgeoning romance industry. In 1980, Dell published the first category romance by a Black author with Black protagonists- Entwined Destinies by Rosalind Welles (the pseudonym of journalist Elsie Washington). Stephens also made sure that Dell’s Candlelight lines included romances by Indigenous, Latina, and Asian authors, creating almost single-handedly the category that trade publications called “Ethnic Romance”.

In 1983, Stephens moved on to Harlequin, becoming the first editor of their Harlequin American line. Throughout her time as an editor, agent, and mentor, Stephens played a key role in launching the careers of authors such as Sandra Kitt, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Beverly Jenkins.

Stephens also played a key part in making romance novels steamier. Her Candlelight Ecstasy series for Dell pushed the boundaries being set by the two biggest romance publishers, Harlequin and Silhouette, by “going behind the bedroom door,” a taboo at the time.

One of the most important roles played by Vivian Stephens during her career in publishing was as the founder of the Romance Writers of America. A Houston-based group of authors looking to get their romance novels published approached Stephens for advice after the Southwest Writers Conference in 1979. She advised them to band together as the Romance Writers of America, convinced Dell to provide some financial backing, and convinced a group of other editors to attend the group’s first conference in the summer of 1981. Today the group has members from around the globe, and annually presents an award in Vivian Stephens’ name to a person from the publishing industry who has contributed significantly to the genre.

In the summer of 2018, the Romance Writers of America donated to the Browne Popular Culture Library a collection of books formerly used by Vivian Stephens during her days at both Dell and Harlequin. The collection includes books on women’s sexuality, editing and writing romance fiction, the publishing industry, as well as academic works on romance writing. A list of the books can be found in our catalog as The Vivian Stephens Collection.