When Writers’ Organizations Implode

Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič - @specialdaddy on Unsplash

I used to be a member of an organization with the primary mission of supporting and promoting women in SF&F. Until it imploded.

Well, it still exists, but it’s quite a bit smaller now. I won’t go into details because there are still legal matters outstanding, but it was an unpleasant mess.

Which means that I’ve been watching the kerfuffle surrounding the Romance Writers of America with a mixture of amusement (where’s my popcorn), sympathy for those involved (especially innocent chapter leaders), and resignation.

Again? Again?

Now the RWA scenario is much worse at many levels. We’re talking about the largest writers’ organization in the United States, with thousands of members, an operating budget of well over three million dollars. So, how the heck does an organization like that screw up this badly?

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

The Events

So, here is the saga so far, which started just before the holidays and is still ongoing:

1. An author named Courtney Milan, who was of Asian descent, accused a white author, Kathryn Lynn Davis of racism in an older novel, published in 1999. I’ve had to…