A leading writers' organization has filed for bankruptcy following plummeting membership and struggles to bounce back from a high-profile organizational crisis.
On May 29, the Romance Writers of America filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to reports on the filing published in The Guardian and Publishers Weekly, RWA owed more than $3 million to hotels relating to its conferences (two of which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and nearly $75,000 to other creditors.
RWA’s rising debts have been exacerbated by cratering membership numbers. According to reports on the filing, RWA membership has fallen from 10,000 to 2,000 since 2019. Those canceled COVID-19 pandemic-era meetings contributed to the erosion in member numbers, but president Mary Ann Jock said in the filing that most of the lost members were due to "disputes concerning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues between some members of a prior RWA board and others in the larger romance writing community."
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