Lifetime Achievement Award

The following press release was captured from RWA's web site
on the day of its announcement, June 15, 2001.

The 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award winner is:

She’s been an RWA president, a champion of authors’ rights, a volunteer. She is the author of more than 38 historical and contemporary romances. Today Robin Lee Hatcher adds RWA Lifetime Achievement Award winner to her list of romance-writing credentials. For the first time ever, RWA is revealing the winner of its yearly Lifetime Achievement Award prior to the annual summer Conference, and this year’s recipient is Robin Lee Hatcher.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is one of RWA’s most prestigious honors. Like past winners Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Jayne Ann Krentz and the 17 other distinguished winners, Robin will receive a golden RITA statuette during the Award Ceremony at the National Conference in the summer.

RWA members vote on Lifetime Achievement Award recipients based on the length of the nominees’ careers in romance fiction (must have been publishing romances for at least 15 years), and their contributions to the promotion of the genre.

Hatcher certainly qualifies on all counts. She’s been writing romance for as long as RWA has existed; selling her first novel in 1982 when RWA was only two years old. Robin began volunteering for RWA-chapter and national projects as soon as she began her career in romance writing. She’s attended every single RWA Conference except one, and has volunteered at most. She helped to found three local chapters and spent five years on the RWA Board of Directors, including a term as RWA president.

In 1997, Robin filed a class-action lawsuit against a former publisher on behalf of more than 270 authors. A settlement resulted in the release of $950,000 in withheld royalties to the class authors (as earned, not as an award) and a change in accounting practices by the publisher.

Robin describes her reaction to the win as "shocked," as well as profoundly honored and filled with joy. She says she’s always felt that she got more out of RWA if she was in the trenches; participating and volunteering, playing a role in its development. "I believe this is true of everything in life," she says of her eagerness to get the most by giving the most.

"My life has been touched by so many wonderful people because of RWA," Robin says. "I'm profoundly grateful for the rich blessing of friends. And all of them intuitively understand the voices I hear in my head and the angst I suffer with every book and all the other quirks that make me who I am — a writer."

Congratulations and gratitude to Robin Lee Hatcher for the 20 years of talent, time and energy she selflessly gave to the romance genre and Romance Writers of America.

To watch the presentation of the LTA to Robin, click here.