Romance Writers of America files for bankruptcy amid bitter racism battle

Group says membership crisis means it cannot pay conference contracts as top writer condemns RWA's retreat from commitment to equality'

For decades, the Romance Writers of America (RWA) served as a champion for the mostly female authors of one of the country's most popular - and denigrated - genres of fiction.

But even as sales of romance novels have boomed in recent years, RWA has struggled, reporting that its membership has declined 80% amid bitter internal battles over racism within publishing, and within the group itself.