RWA Welcomes President Clair Brett

RWA welcomes Clair Brett as president of Romance Writers of America, effective January 10, 2022. She will fulfill the role of president through the end of the term, August 31, 2022. 

Please read below for a message from President Brett.

To all RWA members,

I hope this message finds you well. For those who may not know who I am, my name is Clair Brett. Here we are in 2022, and it sometimes feels like we are living on a merry-go-round instead of a planet, because we keep ending up in the same place with same view. 

I have been an RWA member since 2004 and have volunteered in any capacity I could to support the organization. In 2020, I was elected to the RWA Board as a Director-at-Large and served my term (ending August 31, 2021). The Board I worked with was all hardworking and committed members. I left hopeful for the future of RWA, but cautious, knowing how far we still had to go.

After the holiday break, I received an email from Executive Director Leslie Scantlebury, on behalf of the Board, asking if I was interested in serving out the remainder of the term of President of Romance Writers of America. The email started with “I know this is a big ask.”

Just like all of you, I am a member first. My local chapter is my family, and RWA gave me the tools I needed to start and maintain my professional writing career. I have sat on the sidelines watching the organization struggle. I have been angry, fearful, sad, and, dare I say, ashamed upon learning hard truths about the organization’s past. But, at the end of the day, it wasn’t a “big ask,” because I know RWA can be an inclusive, responsible organization and a valuable resource for the romance writing community.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that I am your President for the remainder of the 2022 term.

I met the Board for the first time on Monday night (January 10). I am happy to reunite with the members I worked with last year and look forward to getting to know those new to me. We started the discussion on topics that are paramount in the stabilization of the organization. Our focus is to act in the best interest of Romance Writers of America. Our objective is to continue the DEIA work, growing membership, enhancing programs and education geared toward career-focused romance writers, and advocacy as we continue our work on stabilizing RWA for the future.

Personally, as a member first, I want to know what today’s romance writer needs from “The Voice of Romance Writers.” As an author myself, I know that will look vastly different from what it did twenty years ago.

Our job as a Board, and my job as President, is to act in the best interest of the organization. This Board and I are dedicated to that purpose.

Thank you, 

Clair Brett
RWA President