Romance Writers of Australia Conference 2023 program announced

Wednesday, 3 May 2023 Books+Publishing

The Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) annual conference will be held in Sydney from 11–13 August at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.

Under the theme of ‘All That Glitters’, the program aims to cater to writers at all stages of their careers, from those just starting out to established authors.

New Zealand gothic romance author Steffanie Holmes will present the Saturday morning keynote ‘Don’t quit before the miracle (and other things I’ve learned about publishing romance)’, followed by a discussion on ‘what’s hot, what’s not, and what will be’ with literary agent Tanera Simons, Tule Publishing editorial director Kelly Hunter, Simon & Schuster associate publisher, fiction and audio Anthea Bariamis and Harlequin head of local publishing Jo Mackay.

Sessions at the conference include author Cassie Hamer talking about writing from multiple points of view; narrator Jodie Harris explaining audiobook production; author Anita Heiss and creative writing teacher Lisa Heidke talking about First Nations books; authors AK Mulford and Anne Kemp getting into the nitty gritty of TikTok; authors Saman Shad and Emma Grey explaining how to weave personal stories into romance; and rights agent Alex Adsett talking publishing contracts.

The Romantic Book of the Year (Ruby) Awards presentation will take place during the Saturday night gala awards dinner. Tickets for the gala dinner and cocktail party are separate from the conference registration and workshop registration.

The full program can be found on the conference website.

Category: Local news