More than 13 RITA Winners

Each year the Romance Writers of America hold a contest to choose the "best" romances of the previous year in a number of categories. "Best" gets the air-quotes because RWA's judges don't choose the best from all books but from among the books that actually get entered. Regardless, the nominees are usually great examples of their subgenre.

The 2010 RITA calls are going out today, right now. As part of the excitement, I thought it would be fun to list past RITA winners from the Paranormal category, or whatever name it had at the time. Also, in other categories, I noticed books with paranormal elements. It was interesting to see how, as the years went by, paranormal offerings became more and more prevalent. The books that won, moreover, became more cross-genre. Some of the earlier paranormal winners had less involved worldbuilding and were certainly not the beginnings of series! With this small retrospective, we can kind of see a snapshot of how our paranormal reading material has changed through the years.

If you happen to know I missed a book with paranormal elements or included one that didn't have them, please let me know in the comments.

2009:
Best Paranormal Romance: Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready
Best Young Adult Romance: Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Best First Book: Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

2008:
Best First Book: Dead Girls Are Easy by Terri Garey
Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Best Paranormal Romance: Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward
Best Young Adult Romance: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

2007:
Best Paranormal Romance: A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

2006:
Best Paranormal Romance: Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair

2005:
Best Paranormal Romance: Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements: A.K.A. Goddess by Evelyn Vaughn

2004:
Best Paranormal Romance: Shades of Midnight by Linda Fallon

2003:
Best Paranormal Romance: Contact by Susan Grant

2002:
Best Paranormal Romance: Heart Mate by Robin D. Owens

2001:
Best Paranormal Romance: The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning

2000:
Best Paranormal Romance: Nell by Jeanette Baker

1999:
Best Paranormal Romance: The Bride Finder by Susan Carroll

1998:
Best Paranormal Romance: FireHawk by Justine Dare

1997:
Best Paranormal Romance: Stardust of Yesterday by Lynn Kurland (also best first book)

1996:
Best Paranormal Romance: The Covenant by Modean Moon

1995:
Best Paranormal Romance: Lord of the Storm by Justine Davis

1994:
Best Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance: Falling Angel by Anne Stuart

1993:
Best Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance: Emily’s Ghost by Antoinette Stokenberg

1992:
Best Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance: Angel for Hire by Justine Davis

***

Congratulations to all nominees and winners from the past and double congrats to this year's slate. Let me know if you need help picking a dress for the ceremony!

Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com * www.meankitty.com