Romance Writers of America 2013 Conference

The Romance Writers of America's annual conference is a conference by writers, for writers, about writers.

From July 17 to July 20 this year, more than 2000 published and aspiring writers—along with editors, agents, booksellers, librarians, and other romance publishing industry professionals—will gather at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis hotel in Georgia to network at the 33rd annual conference.

The goals of the conference are education, networking, business meetings, award recognition, and of course, that staple of all conferences: lavish parties. The most important business transactions, and thereby, the best gossip happens at the hotel bar.

The following authors are the featured speakers:
Keynote Speaker – Cathy Maxwell
Awards Luncheon Speaker – Kristan Higgins
Librarians' Day Luncheon Speaker – Jill Shalvis
Awards Ceremony Emcee – Christie Craig

RWA also sponsors an event for the readers in the community, titled Readers for Life Literacy Autographing, where books are donated by publishers, autographed by more than 700 authors, and bought by dedicated readers. Since 1990, RWA has raised more than $770,000 to fight illiteracy.

The conference is now open for registration with a fee of $450 for members through May 1 and $500 after that. The hotel rate is a discounted $189 per night for single or double occupancy at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

I, unfortunately, will not be attending the conference this year, and that's cause for much disappointment. I'll miss meeting all the lovely friends I only speak with online the rest of the year. So the conference is such a mainstay of my writerly existence, but this year, it isn't provident for me to make it there. Perhaps, next year.