Mystery Writers of America implements proposed sanctions against Harlequin Enterprises

The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) responded quickly this week to a letter from Harlequin Enterprises CEO Donna Hayes in which she affirmed her company's intent to link its new "pay-to-publish" division, DellArte Press, with its traditional publishing options. Frankie Y. Bailey, Executive Vice President of the Mystery Writers of America, informed the MWA's members yesterday, December 4, 2009, of the following action taken on December 2nd:

The Board of Mystery Writers of America voted unanimously on Wednesday to remove Harlequin and all of its imprints from our list of Approved Publishers, effective immediately. We did not take this action lightly. We did it because Harlequin remains in violation of our rules regarding the relationship between a traditional publisher and its various for-pay services.

Even Sherlock Holmes would have been puzzled over
Harlequin Enterprises' recent decisions.- Public domain photo

The full text of the MWA's response, available on MWA board member Lee Goldberg's blog, points out that although the MWA did not object to Harlequin's offering a pay-to publish option, its incorporation of that program into the publisher's other functions violated MWA regulations:

Ms. Hayes states that Harlequin intends as standard practice to steer the authors that it rejects from its traditional publishing imprints to DellArte and its other affiliated, for-pay services. In addition, Harlequin mentions on the DellArte site that editors from its traditional publishing imprints will be monitoring DellArte titles for possible acquisition. It is this sort of integration that violates MWA rules.

The MWA's response to Hayes' letter listed five actions the organization would take as a result of its decision. These include (1) removing Harlequin from the MWA's approved publishers list, (2)  retaining  active status for MWA members whose works were published by Harlequin before December 2, 2009, (3) refusing membership to Harlequin-published authors after that date, (4) allowing books published by Harlequin prior to December 2, 2009 to be eligible for Edgar® Awards and (5) denying Edgar® Award eligibility to Harlequin works published after that date.

The writing community reacted swiftly to the MWA action. Lee Goldberg and Los Angeles Times crime fiction columnist Sarah Weinman continued to discuss the matter on Weinman's blog,  Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind.  Weinman stated that "while I can see the MWA's side on this, especially as they want to make sure the money flows in the authors' direction, but I also think, over time, this – and similar de-listing decisions by RWA and SFWA – may be seen as the turning point that breaks apart traditional writers' organizations into a million scattered pieces." 

Weinman's mentioning of  the breaking apart of writers' organizations refers to the decision by  the International Thriller Writers association not to impose any restrictions on Harlequin authors who are among its members. Donna Hayes cited that group's response in her letter to the MWA.

Paranormal romance author Jackie Kessler, who supported the MWA's action, closely scrutinized Donna Hayes' letter in Harlequin versus MWA, Part 1, pointing out problems she saw within it. Kessler had previously written The Day After: Harlequin Blinks, an informative and entertaining summary of the various responses to Harlequin's newest venture.

The Mystery Writers of America first proposed the sanctions which it implemented this week in a letter to Harlequin Enterprises on November 9, 2009. At that time the MWA was particularly concerned with Harlequin's Manuscript Critique service. Donna Hayes, in her letter to the MWA stated that "as of November 30, 2009, our Manuscript Critique Service is no longer available." The concerns behind the MWA's criticism of the Critique service, though, were reinforced by the November 17, 2009 press release with which Harlequin announced the creation of Harlequin Horizons, the original name of its pay-to-publish division, DellArte Press.