Since today is the first official day of the Romance Writers of America National Conference, I’d like to take a moment to recognize our nominees for the RITA awards, which will be handed out Saturday night.

The RITAs (which, if you were wondering, are indeed named after a Rita--RWA’s first president, Rita Clay Estrada), honor the best romance novels and novellas published in the past year. In 2008, the competition was stiff, with over one thousand applicants in twelve categories. We are proud to present the following finalists from Avon:



Contemporary Single Title Romance

NOT ANOTHER BAD DATE by Rachel Gibson






Historical Romance


DUCHESS BY NIGHT by Eloisa James










IN BED WITH THE DEVIL by Lorraine Heath










WHERE THE HEART LEADS by Stephanie Laurens












Paranormal Romance
THE UNDEAD NEXT DOOR by Kerrelyn Sparks











Regency Historical Romance

MR. CAVENDISH, I PRESUME by Julia Quinn









THE EDGE OF DESIRE by Stephanie Laurens









THREE NIGHTS OF SIN by Anne Mallory












Romance Novella

“Only You” by Jacquie D’Alessandro and “The Fall of Rogue Gerard” by Stephanie Laurens from IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT

Congratulations, all!





AND, remember tomorrow: