Share this:
Best selling romance writer Valerie Parv will be popping the bubbles this week.
Each year, Valerie mentors an aspiring writer under the Valerie Parv Award (VPA), named in her honour by Romance Writers of Australia.
After working with Valerie, many previous winners of the VPA have gone on to have their work published, and this year, several writers have hit the jackpot.
The enormous, 10,000-member Romance Writers of America has chosen two former VPA winners – Kelly Hunter and Bronwyn Parry – as finalists in the RITA Awards, which promote excellence in the published romance genre by recognising outstanding romance novels and novellas. Up to 1,200 romance novels are entered in the RITA competition each year. This year’s winners will be announced on 31 July in Nashville.
Gabrielle Luthy and current VPA holder Kylie Griffin, are also finalists in the unpublished section (the Golden Heart Award) and this is a remarkable feat for Australian romance writers, and the Valerie Parv Award, in particular.
Now in its tenth year, the award is growing in popularity. According to the contest organisers, last year’s entries would have filled three shopping trolleys.
Come on, Aussies!