Winter's great escape, Part 2: Plan now to attend 2010 RWA conference

Even those who have found some relief from the winter blues by signing up now for RomCon™ 2010 may still need to extend their mental escape from cold weather. They can do so by planning yet another conference to attend during the summer of 2010 – that of the Romance Writers of America (RWA).

RWA's 2010 conference was originally scheduled to be
held at  the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville,Tenn.
until the May 2010 flooding there cause its rescheduling.
(Creative Commons Attribution photo by RecoilRick)

The RWA's 30th annual national conference could not be better timed. Following only two weeks after RomCon™ 2010, this July 28 - 31, 2010 event will be held in Orlando, Florida at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Flooding in May 2010 required the cancellation of the previously scheduled site at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville Tennessee.

Nora Roberts is scheduled as the keynote speaker at this year's event. Jayne Ann Krentz will be the Awards Luncheon speaker; Sherrilyn Kenyon is the Librarians' Day speaker, and Sabrina Jeffries will be Master of Ceremonies for the 2010 RITA and Golden Heart Awards ceremony.

According to the RWA website, online registration for the conference will begin on February 1, 2010. The event will once more provide writers and book trade professionals with an opportunity to interact and learn through a series of workshops, panel discussions and informative programs. The RWA's "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing will again be featured, as will the 2010 RITA and Golden Heart Awards.

The "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing, taking place this year on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, will include over 500 authors. Funds from the event, which have amounted to $600,000 since 1990, go to ProLiteracy Worldwide, an adult literacy program.

The 2010 RITA and Golden Heart awards will be presented during the conference's closing ceremonies on Saturday, July 31. The RWA issues its RITA awards for excellence in published romance fiction novels; its  Golden Heart awards, for unpublished romance fiction manuscripts.

At the 2009 RWA conference, Nora Roberts received the RITA award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements for Tribute (2008). Articles appearing on the Nora Roberts Examiner site that discussed the 2009 RWA conference are listed below:

• NPR host Scott Simon interviews Nora Roberts at 2009 RWA conference
• Jennifer Greene to receive 2009 Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award
• Roberts begins RWA conference week with Washington Post event
  
• Three Nora Roberts events scheduled for 2009 RWA conference
  
• Nora Roberts wins her 12th RITA award for Tribute at 2009 RWA conference
  
• Roberts begins RWA conference week with Washington Post event
  
• Nora Roberts interviewed by Author Talk at 2008 RWA Conference