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RITA Awards

Award for English-language romance fiction, presented by the Romance Writers of America (RWA). Named for the RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada.

Title Box

The RITA Awards
Best First Book
Awarded since 1990

1990-1999

Out of the Blue by Alaina Hawthorne

Black Horse Island by Dee Holmes

Candle in the Window by Christina Dodd

Trust Me by Jeane Renick

A Candle in the Dark by Megan Chance

Ghostly Enchantment by Angie Ray

The Warlord by Elizabeth Elliott

Stardust of Yesterday by Lyn Kurland

Brazen Angel by Elizabeth Boyle

My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth

2000-2009

The Maiden and the Unicorn by Isolde Martyn

A Man Like Mac by Ray Robinson

The Border Bride by Elizabeth English

Shades of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom

Back Roads by Susan Crandall

Time Off for Good Behavior by Lani Diane Rich

Show Her the Money by Stephanie Feagan

The Husband Trap by Tracy Anne Warren

Dead Girls Are Easy by Terri Garey

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

2010-2019

One Scream Away by Kate Brady

Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

The Sweet Spot by Laura Drake

Run to You by Clara Kensie

Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn

Once and For All : An American Valor Novel by Cheryl Etchison

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria

Lady in Waiting by Marie Tremayne