By Libby M Iriks
This has been a year of adaptation, but with that comes new opportunities, to which our anthology contributors can attest. Tradition has seen RWA’s anthologies launched amid the fun and chaos of its annual conference weekend. This year, however, each Sweet Treats and Spicy Bites contributor was given their moment in the virtual spotlight.
When the RWA committee and conference team announced earlier this year that the conference would go ahead in a virtual setting, I was left wondering – as a Sweet Treats contributor – how our anthologies would be launched. I made an offer to Tanya Kean, RWA’s Events Manager, to help coordinate virtual launches for each anthology, and so, a new opportunity was born.
The launches were held last month, with fifteen Sweet Treats authors and twelve Spicy Bites authors contributing to the presentations, giving them the opportunity to promote themselves, their story and other works to an audience beyond those who would have attended a physical conference. From free book offers to colouring-in sheets and recipes, attendees were treated to a whole lot of sweet and spicy content.
On behalf of the contributors, I’d like to thank all those who showed their support by “attending” the launches live – we had over 100 viewers combined! If you missed out, you can catch the replays on RWA’s YouTube channel (don’t forget to subscribe!), or click the following links for the Sweet Treats Launch or the Spicy Bites Launch. Thanks, too, to Tanya Kean for putting the presentations together and for making this opportunity possible.
The 2021 Sweet Treats and Spicy Bites contests open in January; and themes have been announced – “chocolate” for Sweet Treats and “denim” for Spicy Bites. You can also check out the contest pages on the RWA website for more information: 2021 Sweet Treats Contest and 2021 Spicy Bites Contest.
And if you’re planning on entering, why not sign up to my September OWL (begins 7 September), Pen a Kick-arse Short Story in 9 Easy Steps, where I’ll walk you through the entire short story-writing process, from idea conception and fleshing out your characters, through to analysing feedback and revising and polishing your story. You never know, you might find yourself in the anthology launch spotlight next year!
Links (in case you missed them!):
- RWA’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwMw8vhbFZ3Z93ftlSyDiOA
- Sweet Treats launch: https://youtu.be/I9EWth0s4Ks
- Spicy Bites launch: https://youtu.be/XaTnM1_VXbM
- Sweet Treats 2021 contest page: https://romanceaustralia.com/contests-overview/sweet-treats-anthology/
- Spicy Bites 2021 contest page: https://romanceaustralia.com/contests-overview/spicy-bites-anthology/
- Pen a Kick-arse Short Story OWL: https://www.trybooking.com/BHGWN
Comments
The anthology authors’ presentation was such a great idea. Loved watching and cheering them on.
Congratulations to all and to you, Tanya and all involved.
⭐🎉