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It's not the ideal solution -- not sure what that would've been, but changing the rules back and apologizing might have been nice -- but they've decided not to run the competition now. I'm guessing there was a wholesale withdrawal of entries so they didn't have a choice.
The statement is a whole bunch of nothing, IMO.
This is the statement on their page:
After much consideration, RWI regretfully announces the MTM Published Author Contest has been cancelled. All monies received from entrants will be returned as soon as possible. We have heard and understood the issues raised, and will take those concerns into consideration should the chapter elect to hold contests in the future. Please note: our contest coordinator, Jackie, is a chapter member who graciously volunteered to collect entries and sort by category. It is unfortunate that she has become the object of personal ridicule and abuse. We recognize the decision to disallow same-sex entries is highly charged. We also opted not to accept YA entries. We do not condone discrimination against individuals of any sort.
It's telling that yesterday they took down the page listing the published members of their chapter. I'm guessing it was to stave off a drop in sales or maybe those authors were getting emails or blog posts from people wondering what their stance was?
The whole thing has left me disheartened but I'm cheered by the outrage expressed across the board, not just by those of us who write/read same-sex books.
The statement is a whole bunch of nothing, IMO.
This is the statement on their page:
After much consideration, RWI regretfully announces the MTM Published Author Contest has been cancelled. All monies received from entrants will be returned as soon as possible. We have heard and understood the issues raised, and will take those concerns into consideration should the chapter elect to hold contests in the future. Please note: our contest coordinator, Jackie, is a chapter member who graciously volunteered to collect entries and sort by category. It is unfortunate that she has become the object of personal ridicule and abuse. We recognize the decision to disallow same-sex entries is highly charged. We also opted not to accept YA entries. We do not condone discrimination against individuals of any sort.
It's telling that yesterday they took down the page listing the published members of their chapter. I'm guessing it was to stave off a drop in sales or maybe those authors were getting emails or blog posts from people wondering what their stance was?
The whole thing has left me disheartened but I'm cheered by the outrage expressed across the board, not just by those of us who write/read same-sex books.
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