Free Entry for All in Inaugural Vivian Contest; Judge Sign Up Deadline Extended

October 23, 2020

To our members: 

We're excited to announce that for the inaugural year of The Vivian contest, entrants won't pay a fee for their first book entered. Additionally, the judge sign up deadline will be extended to November 20. You can sign up to judge here. 

The Vivian recognizes and celebrates the very best books in the romance genre, which means we need to implement access opportunities that reduce barriers to entry and create a level playing field for all romance authors. To that end, members and non-members will be able to enter their first book for free simultaneously. With this increased accessibility, The Vivian contest will truly honor the founder of our organization, Vivian Stephens, who fought long and hard for all voices within romance.

RWA will use funds it received this year as a member organization of the Authors Coalition of America to cover the fees for authors’ first entries. These funds are earmarked for advocacy activities that benefit the romance community as a whole.

We recognize that many people are wary of being part of a contest when authors from marginalized communities were shut out before. We understand the mistrust, which is why we can’t ask those who are rightly skeptical to pay, either with a membership fee or a contest fee. This, along with several other changes, are being done in an effort to show that the new RWA—while not perfect—is addressing its shortcomings, advocating for authors fairly, promoting the genre equally, including all voices in romance, and is accessible to all romance authors

Quick Facts

• The Vivian opens for entries on November 10 at 11 a.m. CST.
• At this time, members and non-members may submit one entry for no charge.
• Entrants may enter a second book starting November 24 at 11 a.m. CST, provided the entry cap has not already been met. A processing fee will be charged for second entries, $50 for members and $100 for non-members.
• An initial entry cap will be announced on November 6 based on the number of accepted judges at that time.
• If that initial entry cap is met, entrants will remain on a waitlist until November 23. 
• Judge sign ups will remain open until November 20 and entrants on the waitlist will be admitted to the contest in the order entries were received if the number of accepted judges allows for the entry cap to be raised. Entrants will be notified by November 23 if their entry can be removed from the waitlist.
• Visit www.rwa.org/TheVivian for more information. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] with questions.