Wednesday, April 13, 2016

On Writing Contests and LGBT Entries

UPDATE: I'm leaving the text up, but I also want to link to this entry in which the directors of the Colorado Romance Writers apologized for this incident.

I want to say right out of the gate that this is not about winning. In fact, I have asked for all of my books (including two that were finalists) to be removed from the remainder of the competition. Yes, I’m very competitive—and who doesn’t enjoy winning a contest?—but that’s not what this post is about. It’s about being reminded at every turn that even though the LGBT genre has made progress, we haven’t made enough yet. Even though we’ve made progress, there are still spaces where we remain unwelcome.

This isn’t about winning a competition. This is about being told “who you are is offensive.”

So let me get to the point—the situation that prompted me to post this.

Recently, I was contacted by the coordinator of the Colorado Romance Writers’ annual competition, the Award of Excellence. As I do every year, I had submitted several books. One of them was my gay inspirational romance, Lead Me Not. Naturally, I entered it into the Inspirational Romance category.

As emails are private correspondence, I won’t post the actual conversation, but I was told that the coordinators wanted to move Lead Me Not into the Contemporary Single Title category. Reason being—no one in their judging pool would read an M/M inspirational.

Um…no. This book meets the criteria of the category. From the website: “Romantic novels featuring a religious or spiritual belief system as an integral part of the relationship.” Nowhere does it say “…an integral part of the heterosexual relationship.”

So no, I was not willing to move it into another category. I expressed as much to the coordinators, mentioning that this made me feel unwelcome in the competition as a whole. If judges could refuse to read an entry because it was LGBT, even though the rules did not explicitly bar LGBT entries, then maybe this wasn’t the competition for me.

After several e-mails back and forth with various coordinators, though, I believed we had reached an understanding about the situation and come to an agreement about how to move forward. Some judges had been found who would read “pretty much anything,” and would agree to read the book and judge it for what it is (you know—a gay Christian romance).

At that point, I was still less than thrilled that it had even been an issue, but thought it was resolved. That was why I didn’t say anything publicly at the time.

Well, the finalists were announced yesterday, and Lead Me Not made it into the finals…

…of the Mainstream w/Romantic Elements category.

Whut.

Not only was it moved out of Inspirational, it was moved out of romance entirely and into “romantic elements.” (Spoiler alert – it’s a romance)

Upon contacting the coordinators, they insist they thought I was in agreement about moving the book into that category. However, nowhere in any of the emails did I say “Yes, move the book.”  I stated I was happy with the solution when the solution was “judges who will judge it for what it is.”

The coordinators insisted they had thought it was the best solution for “a book that didn’t fit comfortably into one category, but instead straddled multiple categories.”

Nonsense. Utter nonsense.

Lead Me Not is a gay Christian romance. It’s an inspirational to its very core. Calling it “Mainstream with Romantic Elements” is a tremendous stretch unless you’re also willing to put the other inspirational romances into the same category. Which we don’t. Because they’re not mainstream. (Seriously? A gay Christian romance qualifies as mainstream?)

I entered the book in the Inspirational romance category because I wanted it judged as an Inspirational romance. If it didn’t win… fine. That’s part of competing. You win some, you lose some. And I didn’t write this book expecting everyone to love it. Not by any means. But to be refused a shot at even competing alongside books in the same genre? To be unable to see how it stacks up against the rest of its own genre? I have a problem with that.

And I just can’t help feeling a sense of déjà vu over this whole thing, which is probably related to the fact that I’ve blogged about this subject before—clear back in 2012 when an RWA chapter announced that their annual contest would not allow same-sex entries.

One of the things I wrote in that blog echoes precisely what I’m feeling right now:

“I know, it's just a contest. It's not the end of the world. But you know what? It's these little things that add up to a culture that still can't offer more than lip service to the idea that being queer is okay. When an organization allows exclusion based on people being "uncomfortable," it validates that discomfort. It acknowledges that the uncomfortable thing is... well, that it's less okay than someone else's discomfort. They could have said "If you aren't comfortable with the material being submitted, with all brands of 'individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work', then maybe you aren't qualified to judge this competition." Instead, they've stated what amounts to, "Yeah, let's not include that, because... eww."”

Now, this current situation isn’t an entire competition excluding LGBT entries. This is a specific category within a larger competition, and it wasn’t an upfront ban on same-sex content. No, this was judges refusing to read what had been submitted, and the organizers deciding the best course of action was to ask the author to move the book to another category.

Basically, we’re still dealing with what was dealt with in 2012—the discomfort of judges taking precedence over the acceptance of people. Am I okay with people choosing not to read gay romance on their own? Sure! Read whatever you want. Am I okay with books being removed from competition categories because they have LGBT characters? No.

I can certainly appreciate that the LGBT and Christian communities have clashed. All it takes is a glance at the news or social media to see that there is still a tremendous amount of strife between the two. I’m not about forcing judges to read a particular topic, pairing, etc. What I object to is that when the judges wouldn’t read it, the solution was not “look for other judges.” It was “shunt the book over to another category.”

So what’s the point of all this rambling? In short, I want competitions to be explicit about what is acceptable and what isn’t. If LGBT books are not wanted—in the competition as a whole, or in particular categories—spell it out.  Save us the time and money that goes into entering if who we write—and in many cases, who we are—is not welcome.

25 comments:

  1. Frankly, I think there is an unmet need in the marketplace for gay Christian romances. It's a shame, literally, that you met with this response -- and that regular readers of inspirational romance wouldn't read it.

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    1. At one point in time, Dreamspinner was working on a Christian, or at least religious, imprint. I am not, however, sure if that's still a going concern.

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  2. By definition their actions imply that an Gay people cannot be Christian. Shame on them. I'm sorry that this happened to your book and the impact on you

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  3. Thank you for speaking out about this. As a Christian and a romance writer, this breaks my heart and makes me angry at the same time. You are welcome in my corner of the world any time.

    P.S. I bought Lead Me Not and am moving it to the top of my TBR pile. I love the twist on the Good Samaritan and I can't wait to read it.

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  4. I've read it, and while it was a tough read for me (not being Christian any more), I thought it hit all the right buttons for an inspirational romance. (I recently recommended it on an r/exmormon thread in response to a person talking about what they had to do to get out of the LDS church.)

    I'm enraged on your behalf. It should have had a good chance in that category.

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  5. Sorry that happened. That kind of bigotry is very disturbing. I'm always looking for LGBT that isn't erotica so even though I'm not Christian, hence not a sub genre I usually read, I'm going to give it a try. Stories about someone with a different religious belief can still be enjoyable after all. :)

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  6. Here's what I think would be appropriate in this situation: the chapter should offer you treble damages—meaning that if you entered 5 books at $25 each, they should offer you 3 x $125 or $375. Which you could keep or donate back them or donate to an LGBT charity, or whatever you see fit. The point is, they're in the wrong here, and they need to make it right in a way that shows they understand how wrong they are.

    When RWA chapters sponsor contests, they're making legally binding agreements with entrants. They can't change the rules after the fact.

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    1. For the record, I asked for my entry fees to be refunded for all of my entries (including the other title that was in the finals), and promptly received the refund.

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  7. I love it how they don't openly say they don't want LGBT characters in their submissions, cause that would be wrong. Nope, let's do it behind the curtain and hope no one finds out.

    I don't understand why there is an LGBT sub-genre to begin with. They are romances or scifis or fantasies, they should not be LGBT/gay romances or gay scifis. Yes, the labels are great for marketing (to reach a certain audience) and to make sure those who don't want to read them can stay away. But that's all it needs, a label or keyword, not a whole sub-genre that has us judging romances and gay romances separately.

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  8. This is appalling. As I've just written a story with one MC being a minister in the Church of Scotland, it makes me so angry to read this.

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  9. Alexa I'd read that. I'm not gay or overtly Christian, But this is so wrong I'm extremely offended with that competition. I lost a Christian friend over what I write. My argument? I have a gift that god gave me and I will use it.If a story os m/m Christian inspirational that is what it is and should be praised.

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  10. Well that was rather short sighted of them. I almost never read M/F romances with religious themes and when I do, they're not inspirational-based. But I'll snatch up a M/M romance with religious themes in a heartbeat.

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  11. Ugh! I want to say, "I can't believe they did that" but you and I both know it's not far fetched to believe small-mindedness continues to prevail in the romance world. I will say that I've been looking for Christian gay romance for years and not only is it difficult to find, it's difficult to get publishers to acquire it and they give eerily similar excuses for not acquiring it. It's ridiculous and I'm so glad you're writing it. Now... where do I go buy it?

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  12. I'm furious and truly sad that this is still happening in RWA. I, too, have experienced this appalling push-it-under-the-rug "solution" that I think of as "Bless your heart, but let's not offend the people who hate your son."

    I posted your blog (and my comments) on my facebook page. I'm sending you virtual hugs and support. Frankly, I think EVERYONE should pull their entries from this contest in solidarity. I certainly would if I'd entered it.

    Grrrr! <<>>

    -- Suz Brockmann

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    1. There's an invisible hug inside of that <<>>.

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  13. I am so angry on your behalf, but sadly just not that surprised. There seems to be a complete lack of understanding that gay people can be Christians, or indeed, of any other faith, and committed to their God, as well as not hetero.

    I am not religious in any way but I think this is exactly the kind of book that I would enjoy as an inspirational novel, both from the MM angle, and the Christian one.

    At least you did get a refund!

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  14. What I object to is that when the judges wouldn’t read it, the solution was not “look for other judges.” It was “shunt the book over to another category.”

    Exactly! Their behavior echoes the way society in general often handles the issues, and it all needs to change.

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  15. Your situation was brought to my attention by Suzanne Brockmann's Facebook post. I am outraged. As a member of RWA, I'm truly sorry for the discrimination that you and other writers of LGTB romance have experienced in our organization. It turns my stomach. Real change is needed NOW. Meanwhile, I'm off to Amazon to get a copy of LEAD ME NOT.

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  17. Why should there be sub-genres anyway? It should be the main overall title, ie inspirational, sci-fi, romance. I am also sure many LGBTQ have strong religious beliefs, not all I know. It's part of the reason it's hard for them to come out and expose their sexual orientation, and face the hardships they do at that time. Someone reading a LGBT inspirational story might actually find strength and belief they are steps to having a successful and productive life.

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  18. Having recently released a gay romance with Christian themes--one of the heroes is a Unitarian minister--I wanted to let you know I support you and the stand you've taken. I don't enter contests for various reasons, one being that over the years I've noticed RWA-sponsored contests seem to have issues like this all too often. I'm looking forward to reading Lead Me Not!

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  19. OMG. So, I virtually never comment on a stranger's blog, but I got tagged to read this post. I actually do write "mainstream with romantic elements" (I'm not really a romance-genre writer), but also I typically include spiritual/religious themes and most definitely LGBTQ+. I am appalled at this, not just as a writer but as a queer person of faith myself. How hateful of them. I would love to tell them that there IS a place for LGBTQ+ fiction blending romance and faith, and not just among queer Christians. Our friends and families want to read and understand our lives too. I am unbelievably sorry at this injustice.

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  20. Wow, I was considering re-joining this exact chapter after a hiatus from RWA. No more. Not interested in giving any money to people who will discount my contributions if they happen to have LGBT characters (all my books do, one way or another, but not always MCs or openly identified, since I write historical).

    I am sure they don't care a bit about my annual dues. They will go one with this bigoted crap, but I won't have to say that I am a part of it, nor write apologetic blog posts to other authors for the actions of my chapter. RWA really needs to get the right-wing Christian stick out of its ass. I'm rather tired of the evangelicals screwing the rest of us with their "discomfort," then saying they are only doing it for our own good. Frankly, I've stopped caring if they are uncomfortable. I rather hope they are.

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  21. As a Catholic and someone kinky and bisexual, I'm very troubled by the suggestion that an LGBT romance is barred from the inspirational category. Trust me, there are a lot of LGBT Christians out there. I'm one of them.

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  22. I went back and read my review of Lead Me Not. In it I mentioned that I had a mental list of all the people that I felt like I should recommend this book to because of it's message. My list just grew longer.

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