Letter from Our President
Welcome to the home of West Houston Romance Writers of America. The chapter, which was founded in 1981, is proud to have more than a hundred members committed to excellence in fiction writing.
The work of our authors ranges from inspirational to erotica, our heroes from traditional to fantastic. If you want firemen or cowboys, vampires or Zeus’ descendants, you’ll find them on the pages of West Houston’s stories.
We welcome writers of all levels of experience. If you’re just starting out as a writer, you can take advantage of our mentorship program. If you’re already an RWA PAN member, you can benefit from our long-standing PAL review program. No matter where you are on your journey, this can be your place to come for learning, friendship, and support.
Roughly one-third of our membership is published, with new sales happening with wonderful frequency. Our writers are talented and award-winning. We have many Rita and Golden Heart winners and finalists, and, in 2007 alone, our members were finalists in over ninety chapter contests.
Of course, the credit for all this success goes directly to the writers themselves for all their hard work and dedication, but we hope that the WHRWA workshops and lectures focused on the craft of writing have contributed in some way to the excellence of their work.
Our chapter sponsors one of the most prestigious contests within RWA, The Emily. 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of contest. Our mission is to provide participants with excellent feedback on their work and to showcase the work of our finalists to industry professionals who can help them get published. In 2008, of the fifteen finalists, seven had their work requested by an editor or agent. Over the years, fifty-four Emily finalists/winners have gone on to be published. For more information on The Emily, please click on the Emily tab above.
If you live in Houston or are just visiting, we encourage you to stop in to see us. Guests are welcome to attend two regular meetings. After that, it’ll be time for you to become a part of one of the best RWA chapters in the world.
Karen Burns
West Houston RWA President
President@whrwa.com
