Golden Heart Awards: Overview
RWA proudly supports the efforts of its unpublished members to become published in romance fiction by sponsoring the Golden Heart Contest. The Golden Heart contest brings manuscripts written by unpublished RWA members to the attention of the publishing community and celebrates excellent, unpublished writing.
About the Contest:
Each year, over 1,000 manuscripts are entered in the Golden Heart contest by writers who have yet to sell their first romance novel. Similar to the RITA Award contest, the Golden Heart contest has 10 different categories with only one winning manuscript per category.
In the preliminary round, the 1,000 manuscripts are read and judged by members of RWA, who narrow the field down to approximately 100 finalists. The final round of the contest is judged by acquiring editors from romance publishing houses. Many Golden Heart finalists sell their manuscripts to publishers as a result of the exposure from the contest.
And the Winners Are...
The winners of the Golden Heart contest are revealed alongside the RITA Awards at RWA's Annual Conference every July. At the formal Award Ceremony on the final night of the Conference, the winners of the Golden Heart contest receive a gold, heart-shaped necklace in recognition of their achievement.
2008 Golden Heart Winners
2008 Golden Heart Finalists
