After all, readers shouldn’t have to deal with problematic tropes, and the onus shouldn’t be on them to forgive and forget — especially not in the romance genre, which is supposed to bring its readers joy. The conversation started when Carolyn Jewel — who was then the president-elect of the RWA — blocked one of the editors, Sue Grimshaw, on Twitter after she noticed Grimshaw had “Liked” a series of tweets Jewel perceived to be racist, including a tweet questioning whether white supremacy was real. Davis' complaint came in September, and claimed Milan violated the RWA's social media policy and hurt Lynn's reputation and earning potential. Then on January 8, major romance novel publishers like Harlequin and Avon began to withdraw from attending the RWA national conference, putting the event in jeopardy as well. )Also Read: Romance Writers of America Suspends Novelist Courtney Milan … The RWA’s multicultural chapter, known as CIMRWA, spearheaded a petition to hold a recall vote to remove Suede — which then had to be completely scrapped, even though it garnered the required number of signatures, because the RWA administration allegedly pushed back against it over technical reasons. The common question was this: Why did the RWA Board choose to censure someone for calling out racism, instead of investigating said claims of racism? Jovanka Novakovic courtesy of Courtney Milan But more baffling revelations were still coming to light, many concerning organizational disenfranchisement. Likely no conference now. Milan’s criticism was that Davis’s book was racist. What exactly do you think she’s been fighting against? In a December board meeting, the RWA board voted to suspend and permanently ban from leadership one of its most famous members, Courtney Milan. It's more scandalized than a dowager countess finding her headstrong niece alone on the lap of a rakish duke. Despite having to start over from scratch, the chapter began a new petition and once again successfully collected the mandatory number of signatures needed to force a recall vote, and the RWA finally accepted the petition. (CNN)To say the romance publishing industry is in upheaval right now would be an almost comical understatement. As it seems that refunds are being processed, I decided that I'd prefer my money back over making a statement. Suede also seems to have lied about the secret committee, offering a made-up reason, according to members of the real ethics committee, for why it needed to exist. Backlash was immediate: The news prompted mass membership cancellations, and the hashtag #IStandWithCourtney was a top Twitter trend on Christmas Eve. Read more about Courtney … Tisdale's came first, in August, and then-RWA President HelenKay Dimon asked Milan to resign as chairperson of the RWA's Ethics Committee. Perhaps the author’s right to artistic freedom trumps everything, and it’s effectively censorship to tell someone they can’t write about whatever they want to write about. Romance is publishing’s biggest and most lucrative genre, and RWA is that genre’s biggest professional organization, so the way it handles conflicts helps set the tone for the entire industry. She’s obviously the Woman from La Mancha since racism doesn’t exist…. You see, Courtney Milan, top-selling Chinese-American romance author, former Romance Writers of America (RWA) Board Member and Ethics Committee Chair, and outspoken voice for marginalized romance authors and readers everywhere, had been heavily sanctioned by the RWA Board of Directors for an ethics violation. But the events surrounding Milan’s suspension from RWA and RWA’s subsequent cancellation of the RITAs have combined these questions about the art of romance writing itself with even tougher questions about institutional gatekeeping and systemic discrimination. As more information about the events that lead up to Milan's censure came out, Throngs of bestselling names offered support to Milan, including. "This entire matter has been a massive breach of fiduciary duty, and I am heartbroken that an organization that I served for four years has decided to set itself on fire in a win for absolutely nobody," Milan said in a statement. The problem for Paramount+ (and every other streamer)? But no more excuses. Milan was serving as the chair of RWA’s ethics committee in August 2019 when she participated in a widespread social media conversation regarding two editors from the same small publishing house, Glenfinnan. I mean this … and all the information that keeps coming out is just . RWA chapters across the country issued statements of support for Milan; more than 50 agents, and 18 former RWA presidents and board members, published open letters demanding an explanation. Prominent authors weighed in — and as awareness spread, public opinion was clearly on Milan’s side. Beginning in August of 2019 and subsequently, the RWA Ethics Committee received complaints filed by two members, Suzan Tisdale and Kathryn Lynn Davis, against former Board member Courtney Milan. #IstandwithCourtney. #IStandWithCourtneyMilan. But at that point, the chaos inside the RWA was still expanding, with many additional details yet to emerge. Reading this hurt. While the recent success of authors like Helen Hoang and the accomplishments of longstanding stars like Beverly Jenkins may represent the level of inclusion and discourse many hope for (Jenkins' publisher, Avon, The industry is also self aware of its shortcomings in this area.