Five indie authors who self-publish through Kindle Direct Publishing recently won Romance Writers of America 2018 RITA Awards, which recognize excellence in published romance fiction.
Charles Kronbach, Director of Independent Publishing Worldwide for Amazon, says, “Congratulations to these KDP authors. This is an incredible achievement and we’re honored that these talented writers are choosing KDP to reach readers around the world with their remarkable work.”
In fact, the Contemporary Romance category saw a clean sweep for ‘indie’ writers as self-publishers Lexi Ryan and Kait Nolan won the Long and Short awards respectively while the Mid-Length winner was Tell Me by Abigail Strom, which is published by Amazon Publishing imprint Montlake.
The indie winners are:
- Falling Hard by Lexi Ryan won the 2018 RITA Award for Contemporary Romance: Long.
- Second Chance Summer by Kait Nolan took the 2018 RITA Award for Contemporary Romance: Short.
- Hunt the Darkness by Stephanie Rowe won the 2018 RITA Award for Paranormal Romance.
- Then There Was You by Kara Isaac won the 2018 RITA Award for Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements. Isaac is a first-time RITA winner.
- Wicked Dirty by J Kenner was awarded the 2018 RITA Award for Erotic Romance.
The 2018 RITA Award finalists included 26 independently published authors, a new high for the number of indie authors recognized. The RITA Awards are organized and awarded by the Romance Writers of America.