Hundreds of established and aspiring romance writers flocked to the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle over the weekend of August 12-14 for the Romance Writers of Australia's 2022 conference.
With international and local bestselling authors in attendance, as well as the world's biggest publishing houses such as Harlequin, Simon and Schuster, Allen and Unwin and Penguin Random House, the event marked a huge opportunity for writers to hone their craft and pitch their novels.
The conference has only been held in Perth twice, with the 2022 conference boasting around 260 attendees and a number of workshops covering niche topics like using TikTok as a form of marketing as well as hands-on classes in refining writing skills.
Among the local attendees were Mandurah's bestselling paranormal romance author Louisa West and award-winning Cowaramup rural romance and mystery author Lily Malone.
RWA has launched the careers of some of Australia's most prominent romance writers, with ABIA winner Rachel Johns and seasoned women's fiction author Lisa Ireland both crediting the conference as their launchpad.
"I had been writing for nine years before I found RWA - I'd done a writing degree and honours, but I had learnt nothing about the craft of writing a novel," Ms Johns said.
"When I found the association, my mind was blown - you can interact with people you are fangirling over, and they bring international speakers who you just don't usually get to see in Australia."
Ms Ireland got her own launch at the conference when she pitched her story to Kate Cuthbert, who was working as managing editor of Escape Press at the time.
"I got picked up by them and my career just took off from that," she said.
The women said they had worked on the committee organising the Perth event to "give back" to the community they credited with their successful writing careers.
"If it wasn't for the conference I wouldn't be published, I'd still be floundering around. It's amazing, there are craft workshops and business workshops from people who are actually doing it and doing it well - making a living."
Next year's RWA conference will be held in Sydney, and more information can be found via romanceaustralia.com.
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
