RITA Awards

Founded in 1980, Romance Writers of America (RWA) is a national nonprofit genre writers' association – the largest of its kind in the world. The RITA awards are presented in a variety of categories within the Romance genre and have been announced every year since 1982. For more information on RWA and the RITA Awards, please go to www.rwanational.org.

Best Contemporary Single Title:

2009 – Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson 
Fed up by a seemingly endless line of lousy dates with uncouth, mannerless boors, Adele Harris heads back to her hometown to help her "perfect" sister cope with the breakup of her marriage, only to run into Zach Zamaitis, a former professional football star and the one man who got away.
2008 – Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins *
2007 – Mommy Quest by Lori Handelan *
2006 – Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs
2005 – Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
2004 – Birthright by Nora Roberts
2003 – No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel

Best Historical Romance:

2009 – The Edge of Impropriety by Pam Rosenthal 
The ribald private life of novelist Countess Marina Wyatt is the stuff of public scandal—and it doesn't hurt the sale of her romances, either. But she's totally unprepared for her consuming new affair with Jasper James Hedges, noted art appraiser and her former lover's uncle. In Marina, Jasper sees a work of art of another kind. And for all of Marina's passionate inventions, nothing can compare to what Jasper delivers-an erotic and dangerous voyage to the edge of impropriety and beyond.
2008 – Lessons Of Desire by Madeline Hunter
2007 – On the Way to the Wedding by Julie Quinn 
2006 – The Devil to Pay by Liz Carlyle
2005 – Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale
2004 – The Destiny by Kathleen Givens
2003 – Stealing Heaven by Madeline Hunter

Best Romantic Suspense:

2009 – Take No Prisoners by Cindy Gerard 
Gerard follows her first successful book, Show No Mercy, with another fast-paced tale of romance amid flying bullets. After wily smuggler Fredrick Nader kills investigator Sam Lang's sister, Sam swears to quit Black Ops Inc. Then he learns that Vegas blackjack dealer Abbie Hughes could lead him to Nader's hideaway in Honduras. Sam's plan to seduce information out of Abbie backfires: they fall in love, while Nader kidnaps Abbie's brother, Cory.
2008 – Ice Blue by Anne Stuart
2007 – Blackout by Annie Solomon
2006 – Survivor In Death by J.D. Robb
2005 – I'm Watching You by Karen Rose
2004 – Remember When by Nora Roberts
2003 – Three Fates by Nora Roberts

Best Paranormal Romance

2009 – Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready * 
Mr. Darcy just isn't Flip Allison's style. She prefers novels with hot sex on the bathroom sink to the mannerly, high-tension longing of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. That is, until she pays a visit to Madame K, who promises a therapeutic massage with an opportunity to "Imagine Yourself in Your Favorite Book." Somehow, on the way to a sizzling sink-top session with a Venetian Adonis, Flip lands right in the middle of Regency England — and dangerously close to handsome Mr. Darcy. So close, in fact, that she discovers a side of him even Jane Austen couldn't have imagined.
2008 – Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward
2007 – A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
2006 – Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair *
2005 – Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
2004 – Shades of Midnight by Linda Fallon *
2003 – Contact by Susan Grant *

Best Inspirational Romance

2009 – Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren
Everyone around Stefanie Noble is content, but it seems that her happily ever after has passed her by. Hollywood hotshot Lincoln Cash has made a life playing the role of an action hero, but when he's diagnosed with a debilitating disease, he knows that life will soon be over. He soon heads to Phillips, Montana, to put his plan into action. Not everyone is pleased with the movie star's arrival, especially not Stefanie Noble.
2008 – A Touch of Grace by Linda Goodnight *
2007 – Revealed by Tamera Alexander *
2006 – Heavens To Betsy by Beth Pattillo *
2005 – Grounds to Believe by Shelley Bates *
2004 – Autumn Dreams by Gayle Roper
2003 – Never Say Goodbye by Irene Hannon *

Best First Book

2009 – Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs 
When her mother suddenly decides to marry a near-stranger, Phoebe, whose passion is running, soon finds herself living on a remote Greek island, completing her senior year at an ancient high school where the students and teachers are all descended from gods or goddesses. After discovery she’s a descendant of the goddess Nike, Phoebe is finding that supernatural power have a learning curve.
2008 – Dead Girls Are Easy by Terri Garey *
2007 – The Husband Trap by Tracy Anne Warren *
2006 – Show Her The Money by Stephanie Feagan *
2005 – Time Off for Good Behavior by Lani Rich
2004 – Back Roads by Susan Crandall *
2003 – Shades of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom *

 * = Wake County Public Libraries do not currently own this title.