Romance Writers of America · award year

RITA Awards 2018

The 2018 RITA Awards went to Take the Lead by Alexis Daria (Best First Book), Falling Hard by Lexi Ryan (Contemporary Romance: Long) and Tell Me by Abigail Strom (Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length), with winners in 10 more categories. 84 books were finalists across 13 categories.

Winners

Best First Book

  1. Take the Leadsource (opens in a new tab)

Contemporary Romance: Long

  1. Falling Hardsource (opens in a new tab)

Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length

  1. Tell Mesource (opens in a new tab)

Contemporary Romance: Short

  1. Second Chance Summersource (opens in a new tab)

Erotic Romance

  1. Wicked Dirtysource (opens in a new tab)

Historical Romance: Long

  1. Between the Devil and the Dukesource (opens in a new tab)

Historical Romance: Short

  1. Waltzing with the Earlsource (opens in a new tab)

Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance

  1. Now that You Mention Itsource (opens in a new tab)

Paranormal Romance

  1. Hunt the Darknesssource (opens in a new tab)

Romance Novella

  1. Forbidden Riversource (opens in a new tab)

Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements

  1. Then There Was Yousource (opens in a new tab)

Romantic Suspense

  1. The Fixersource (opens in a new tab)

Young Adult Romance

  1. Seize Todaysource (opens in a new tab)

Finalists

Best First Book

  1. Black Bird of the Gallowssource (opens in a new tab)
  2. His Perfect Partnersource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Thing with Featherssource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Waltzing with the Earlsource (opens in a new tab)

Contemporary Romance: Long

  1. Famoussource (opens in a new tab)
  2. No One but Yousource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Take the Leadsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Dating Gamesource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Whys Have Itsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. The Wingmansource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Tougher in Texassource (opens in a new tab)

Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length

  1. His Perfect Partnersource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Lucky Charmedsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. New Leash on Lifesource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Redemptionsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Royally Wedsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Summer Stocksource (opens in a new tab)
  7. The F-Wordsource (opens in a new tab)
  8. This Can’t Be Lovesource (opens in a new tab)
  9. You Do Something to Me (The Sullivans)source (opens in a new tab)

Contemporary Romance: Short

  1. A Christmas Miraclesource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Christmas at the Graffsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Miracle on Chance Avenuesource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Billionaire’s Christmas Babysource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Cowboy Upstairssource (opens in a new tab)
  6. The Doctor and the Princesssource (opens in a new tab)
  7. The Princess Problemsource (opens in a new tab)
  8. The Sheikh’s Convenient Princesssource (opens in a new tab)
  9. Troy (American Extreme Bullrider Tour #5)source (opens in a new tab)

Erotic Romance

  1. Constant Cravingsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Deposition and a Daresource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Studsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Rivalrysource (opens in a new tab)

Historical Romance: Long

  1. Mad for the Marquesssource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Day of the Duchesssource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Scandalous Flirtsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Scoundrel’s Honorsource (opens in a new tab)

Historical Romance: Short

  1. A Scottish Lord for Christmassource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Blame It on the Dukesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Demon Dukesource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Rogue’s Conquestsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Scandal of It Allsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Within a Captain’s Soulsource (opens in a new tab)

Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance

  1. Shelter the Seasource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Night Marksource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Unloved, a Love Storysource (opens in a new tab)

Paranormal Romance

  1. Bishopsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Eleventh Grave in Moonlightsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Song of the Nightpipersource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Spectred Islesource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Druid Next Doorsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. To Enthrall the Demon Lordsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Wanted and Wiredsource (opens in a new tab)

Romance Novella

  1. Her Duke at Daybreaksource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Secret of My Seductionsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Until the Sun Setssource (opens in a new tab)

Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements

  1. A New Shade of Summersource (opens in a new tab)
  2. A Note Yet Unsungsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Grounded Heartssource (opens in a new tab)
  4. One Simple Wishsource (opens in a new tab)

Romantic Suspense

  1. Critical Instinctsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Guarding Mr. Finesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Montana Heat: Escape to Yousource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Say You’re Sorrysource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Transportersource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Too Wilde to Tamesource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Touch of Redsource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Under Firesource (opens in a new tab)

Young Adult Romance

  1. Black Bird of the Gallowssource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Letters to the Lostsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Thing with Featherssource (opens in a new tab)

About the RITA Awards

Year is the year awarded (winners named at the RWA national conference each July; finalists announced that spring, for books published the year before). The RITA ended after 2019; none was given in 2020, and RWA replaced it with the Vivian. Finalists come from RWA's own finalist pages for every year 2006-2019, read from archive.org snapshots (rwanational.org for 2006-2010, rwa.org for 2011-2019) because rwa.org no longer hosts them. Winners come from RWA's live Past RITA Winners page (rwa.org/past-rita-winners); each winner is marked on its finalist row. Repair: that page leaves out the 2009 Contemporary Single Title winner, Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson, so that row cites RWA's archived 2009 winners page. All book categories are kept under the names on each year's finalist page, so names shift as RWA re-cut categories (e.g. Contemporary Single Title, Contemporary Series, Contemporary Romance: Long/Mid-Length/Short, Regency, Traditional, Novel with Strong Romantic Elements, Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance, Inspirational, Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements, Young Adult, Erotic, Romance Novella); 2008 'Best Paranormal' and 'Best Young Adult' are written as Paranormal Romance and Young Adult Romance. Golden Heart (unpublished manuscripts) is left out. Novellas published on their own stay in; novellas listed as one story inside a larger book ("Story" in Anthology) are left out, 44 rows across 2006-2019, including the novella winners of 2006-2011. A book that was a finalist in two categories appears once per category. Pen names are given as published (w/a or 'writing as' forms keep the pen name). Expected counts are the book rows on each year's finalist page after those novella exclusions.

Organization: Romance Writers of America. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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