Below are the bio’s of the 2018 main speakers:

Damon Suede
Damon Suede grew up out-n-proud deep in the anus of right-wing America, and escaped as soon as it was legal. Though new to romance fiction, Damon has been writing for print, stage, and screen for two decades. He is currently on the board of RWA and is one of their most popular conference craft speakers. He’s won some awards, but counts his blessings more often: his amazing friends, his demented family, his beautiful husband, his loyal fans, and his silly, stern, seductive Muse who keeps whispering in his ear, year after year. Get in touch with him at DamonSuede.com.

Bella Andre
Bella Andre’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels about the Sullivans, the Maverick Billionaires, and the Morrisons, have been #1 bestsellers around the world and she has sold more than 7 million books so far!  Know for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly), her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into ten languages. She also writes NYT bestselling sweet contemporary romances as Lucy Kevin. There are more than 50,000 5-star reviews on Bella Andre’s books on Goodreads! BellaAndre.com.

Nalini Singh

Nalini Singh is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling, Guild Hunter, and Rock Kiss series. Born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand, she was first published in 2003. Her books have sold over seven million copies worldwide and have been translated into more than twenty languages, including German, French, Japanese, and Turkish. Her most recent releases (as of June 2018) are: Ocean Light, Cherish Hard, and Archangel’s Viper

Grace Burrowes
Grace Burrowes is a recovering child welfare attorney who for decades turned to the reliable HEA of romance novels to balance the equally reliable stress of life as a litigator. She began writing as the empty nest years came into view, and has been happily engrossed in novelcraft ever since. She writes Georgian, Regency, Victorian, and contemporary stories, is a six-time RITA nominee, and has won best book of the year accolades from Publishers Weekly, The Library Journal, Kirkus, Romantic Times and the iBooks store. She lives in rural Maryland with various felines and canines who consider her their valet, chauffeur, housekeeper, cook, and scullery maid.

Geoff Symon
Geoff Symon is a 20-year Federal Forensic Investigator and Polygraph Examiner. His participation in high-profile cases includes the attacks on September 11, 2001, the War in Iraq, the Space Shuttle Columbia explosion, the 2002 bombings in Bali and the Chandra Levy investigation, among countless other cases. He has direct, first-hand experience investigating cases including murder (of all types), suicide, arson, kidnapping, bombings, sexual assault, child exploitation, theft and financial crimes. He has specified and certified training in the collection and preservation of evidence, blood-spatter analysis, autopsies and laboratory techniques. You can reach him at GeoffSymon.com.

PLEASE NOTE when booking flights: For those who are booking the full 3 day conference (Fri-Sun) the conference committee is offering a FREE 2 hour workshop on the Thursday night from 7pm to 9pm with Grace Burrowes, called Prose Toolkit.

The Prose Toolkit—We tell our stories with words, and if the words take enough wrong turns, even the best story can end up in the reject pile or worse, the Did Not Finish pile. Grace is a craft-hound, and has submitted to and judged for many contests. This workshop presents the top ten wrong turns Grace sees in contest submissions and in her own writing (still, alas), and some thoughts for how to repair ailing scenes, and keep the tension on every page.

Registration will open early 2018 (If you want to take advantage of our member rates please feel free to join RWNZ)

Please ensure that if you wish to attend the cocktail party or the awards dinner, you need to select it as a product before you go ADD TO CART. The cocktail party is FREE to everyone who buys the full 3 day conference so ensure you choose the correct product (there is one product that is free and one product that adds a cocktail attending payment).

You will be asked for your workshop and pitch choices during the check out process, so please ensure you have studied the programme and all the sub pages so you can make an informed choice. Also have a look at the Editor and Agents page so you understood which editors and agents you’d like to pitch too.

You can update your registration details in My Account area whenever you like.

Online Registration Tickets/Tax Invoice

Retain all Tickets and Ticket/Tax Invoices sent to you following Registration and bring them to the conference. The ticket/s is proof of purchase for the When Love Comes To Town, and associated events, and must be presented at the time of registration and for admission to specific events.

Programme changes – In the unlikely event our programme changes at late notice due to unforeseen circumstances, the changes will be communicated to attendees via the RWNZ website and (where applicable) email.

Registration – Any person participating in or attending any RWNZ-sponsored conference event must be registered. Individuals who violate this condition will be invoiced for the full non-member event fee plus a 50% penalty. An exception to this policy being member attendance at the RWNZ Annual General Meeting.

Event refunds and cancellations policy

RWNZ Cancellation

Cancellation by RWNZ of ticketed conference event such as, Awards Dinner, Cocktail Party, Core Conference, Friday Full Day Workshop and Academic Stream will result in registered Attendees receiving a full refund.

Attendee Cancellation

100% refund up until Early Bird payment deadline of 31 May 2018.

100% refund if cancellation is received between 1 June and 30 June 2018, less a $50 administration fee.

50% refund if cancellation is received after 1 July 2018 and up to 7 days prior to the event.

No refund if cancellation is received within 7 days of the event (except at the discretion of the Executive).

Attendee Refund Requests

Attendees may request a refund due to hardship or other mitigating circumstances. Written requests must be sent to the Conference Registrar. Any refund decision will be at the discretion of RWNZ Management.

Transfer or on-selling of tickets

Fully purchased tickets may only be on-sold or transferred in consultation with and on agreement by the Conference Registrar, and may incur a $50 administration fee.

Processing Refunds

Refunds will be by direct bank deposit and may take up to eight weeks to process.

If you are a RWNZ MEMBER please remember to log in before registering for conference to ensure you get the membership rates.

Registration will open late January 2018. The main speakers are listed here: