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Southwest Florida Romance Writers (SWFRW) was the brainchild of Naples, Florida resident Kristine Hughes. In 1992 she called Joyce Henderson, a resident of Fort Myers, and the process began of incorporating in the State of Florida to qualify as a non-profit organization and become a chapter of Romance Writers of America, Inc. (RWA).
In June of 1993, SWFRW was accepted into RWA as Chapter 102. Kristine headed the first board of directors.
The following is a list of our presidents and how long they served:
Kristine Hughes - Nineteen months
Joyce Henderson - Three years
Diane O'Key - Four years
Tina Wainscott - One year
Barbara Meyers - Two years
Jean Harrington - Two years
Julie Palella - Two years
Our chapter incorporated with nine members on the roster. Since then we have expanded to approximately thirty five.
Our membership includes writers on the west cost of Florida from Tampa to Naples. Some members lend their support from the east coast of Florida.
SWFRW's goal to support members on their way to publication has paid off. Today the chapter boasts fourteen members who have published full-length romance novels. Several others are published in non-fiction.
In the early years, we invited other chapters to attend a "let's have
a good time and network" luncheon. Then during years '95, '96 and
'97, we hosted an annual conference in Naples, which drew interested writers, agents and editors to a forum and venue that brought raves from those
attending. SWFRW has participated the past two years in the Women's Expo,
which was held in Fort Myers. Several members have conducted informative
seminars on various aspects of writing, a wonderful opportunity to promote
romance fiction.
The mission of Southwest Florida Romance Writers is to promote excellence in romantic fiction,
help writers become published and establish careers in their writing field.
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GROUP NEWS & EVENTS