Ms. Davis, who filed one of the complaints, said she was “stunned” by the R.W.A.’s judgment against Ms. Milan and said the penalty “far exceeded the substance of the complaint.” “We asked for an apology. That was what we wanted,” she said. (In the complaint, she said of Ms. Milan: “She cannot be allowed to hold a position of authority, or to use her voice to urge others to follow her lead.”)
HelenKay Dimon, who was president of R.W.A. until her term ended in late August, said that she thought there had been a series of breakdowns in the process and is calling for a full audit.
“People care enough to get that upset,” she said. Now, the organization needs to “step up and take responsibility and have a plan.”
“I think the organization and the membership and the people who drove this decision are not the same things,” Ms. Milan said. “The response of the membership should be heartening to anyone who cares about diversity in R.W.A. and romance.”
Correction: Dec. 30, 2019
An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the R.W.A. rejected a petition calling for its president’s resignation. The petition hasn’t been submitted.
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Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/books/courtney-milan-romance-writers-america.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
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