Our Impact
Our History
2019: WIP Virtual Critique Group is founded by Romance Author, Kharma Kelley as a monthly group for local authors looking for a safe place to grow. Word of mouth of the group expands its participants to members outside of Texas.
2020: The demand for an open writer community for displaced Romance authors of marginalized identities grows and the critique group expands to a community. The first Mentorship Program connecting seasoned Romance authors to growing writers kicks off.
2022: IRP community hits over 150 members. Becomes incorporated as a nonprofit in Texas. The Mentorship Program turns 2 and serves over 40 Romance mentees of marginalized identities.
Launch programs such as “Q&A with an Agent/Editor” series, Harlequin Pitch Event, Indie Author Day Reader Salon, and “Writing inclusive Sex Scenes” with Dr. Sex.
2023: IRP completes 2023 Mentoring Cohort with 16 amazing mentors. The development of generative AI in publishing, supporting IRP partners dissolving under economic pressures, polycrisis across the world and hostile political landscape for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion advises IRP to scale back and keep the lights on.
2024: Mentorship Program takes a year hiatus after the 2023 cohort, serving 78 mentees over its 3 years with 10 multi-year mentors coming back to support.
IRP throttles down in operations and programming to handle economic challenges of funding and engagement due to current economic landscape. Founder plans for 2025 with new hope for the Romance genre as they apply for 501(c)(3) status.
We've been busy these past 4 years with our Mentorship Program and looking forward to supporting more! Visit here for more information!
78 Mentees Served as of 2023
Multi-Year Mentors
Average cohort size
45% of members published
one or more Romance books as an IRP member as of 2024.
Hear from our members about us!
I’m so glad I found this group! It’s a welcoming place for everyone and so informative. Founder Kharma Kelley does a fantastic job arranging agent interviews, critique groups, and happy hours so members can meet. I love it!
Mary Zambales
Writing may be a solitary activity, but it need not be lonely. The Inclusive Romance Project provides a great support group, what with monthly WIP Critique meetings, a Slack community to meet up with fellow writers, various Zoom meetings regarding agents, pitch writing, editing, and writing in general, and a mentorship program. Since we’re all going through similar struggles in writing, the good folks at IRP have your best interests at heart. Best of all, we have fun getting to our goals!
Before I began my journey to becoming a romance writer, I felt as if I was drowning without a life jacket. I didn’t know where to turn or how to begin. That is when I found Kharma Kelley and the Inclusive Romance Project. From querying to the mechanics of the genre, I learned so much. They prepared me for pitch events and the traditional publishing process via workshops, work in progress critiques, and more. Most of all, I appreciated how transparent everyone was about the writing and publishing process, demystifying it for a novice like myself. Along with the IRP mentorship cohort that I was a part of, being part of the group led to my first book being published with Harlequin in 2023.
Amery G. Wong
IRP was one of the first writing communities I joined and I will forever be grateful to Kharma and Preslaysa for creating both the mentorship program and the inclusive community. There’s always something going on in the group: sprints, zoom critiques, agent/editor panels, nanowrimo camps etc. The writers are lovely people and so supportive—I met some of my most trusted friends here—and are always quick to help.