RWA's Slow, Self-Inflicted Death and the Phoenix

When I left Romance Writers of America, it had problems. Lots of problems.

There was an anti-erotica (really it was anti-sex) bent. An anti-ebook bent. An anti-Black bent. Guess what my first romance series had? Yep. All three.

It made me sad. I did learn a lot from the authors in the chapters I belonged to in Houston. But as time passed, I felt more and more uncomfortable. Finally, I slipped out so quietly most people didn't even realize I wasn't there.

Courtney Milan wasn't that lucky. She was tossed out on her ass in a ham-fisted attempt to silence her. Because she was a woman of color, and she was loud, and the Nice White Ladies who really controlled RWA and its purse strings couldn't handle someone like Courtney, other than to make shit up and totally bypass the organization's Ethics Committee.

So, what's happened since last winter?

RWA has lost roughly half its membership. COVID-19 forced their annual conference to go online, but I haven't heard of anyone who's going. I honestly don't know how it will work. They plan on using ZOOM, but all the schools across the country using ZOOM managed to crash the system last week. RWA has lost its biggest money-makers, the RITA and the Golden Heart contests, because so many entrants and judges withdrew.

But what about Courtney Milan?

She's finally put out a new book, the proverbial book of her heart, The Duke Who Didn't, which will be released on September 22. Personally, I'm looking forward to this story.

In the meantime, Courtney talks about her experience with RWA and how her maternal grandmother was the inspiration for her newest novel in a article on Entertainment Weekly.

The End of the Elloras Cave Versus Dear Author Saga

I waited a while before I wrote this post to collect my thoughts. My initial opinion is What A Gigantic Waste of Time!

That's the former lawyer in me raising her bleary head. Between a little litigation experience and clerking for a county judge, I figured the suit would end on October 22nd after perusing the latest documentation of the case. That was the date scheduled for the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment Hearing. I hate it that I was right. Except instead of a judgment, the parties settled prior to the scheduled hearing.

Here's my previous thoughts on why EC's lawsuit wasn't a good idea and how the whole fiasco damaged the principals' reputations.

Of course, the settlement has a non-disclosure agreement so neither party can talk about the actually terms. There's quite a few people upset over the settlement, thinking DA has paid off EC.

I really doubt that's the situation Based on my experience (which like this case, I can't talk specifics because of NDAs) and after wading through the pleadings and exhibits, my GUESS is the parties agreed to walk away and pay their own attorneys' fees.

Again, that's my GUESS. The only people who know for sure are Jennifer Garrish-Lampe, Tina Engler and their attorneys.

The important thing is that real discussions of events and companies within the publishing industry was not chilled. Silencing people helps no one in the fucking business. That fear of being blackballed is why so many publishers' contracts contain so many terms detrimental to writers.

I really can't add anything that other blogs haven't already covered, and covered much more extensively and eloquently. If you're curious, check out the following:

The Passive Voice
Deidre Saoirse Moen
Courtney Milan

All I can say is thank Goddess it's over, and I hope the other EC authors wanting their rights back get them. Unfortunately, I doubt if the authors, editors and artists will ever see another penny of what they are owed.

Legal Shake-ups in the Publishing Biz

We're still in the middle of moving into the new place. The new mattress DH and I ordered won't be delivered until next week, so we're still crashing at the in-laws.

Which means I'm finally getting caught up on industry news. Two major events happened on the legal side of the publishing industry.

The first is the lawsuit by Ellora's Cave against blogger Dear Jane was removed to federal court. Both The Passive Guy and romance author/attorney Courtney Milan have more intelligent commentary than I can provide.

I will say that I've been on the receiving end of of a relatively mild rebuke by a federal judge. It was not pleasant. If Tina Engler thinks she'll get away with the antics she's pulled in Summit County, she's sadly mistaken.

The other big news is the resurrected case against Harlequin for its slight of hand with author royalties was certified as a class action suit by the trial judge. By no means does this indicate the screwed-over writers will win their case. But the judge's cert along with Torstar's quick divestiture of Harlequin to HarperCollins doesn't indicate good things ahead for the publisher. Once again, The Passive Guy has posted the legal paperwork for those who enjoy reading court documents.

Catch y'all on the other side of the weekend!