The RITA Awards, once considered the most prestigious prizes in romance fiction, are now a thing of the past.

The Romance Writers of America (RWA), which presented the awards for almost four decades, have retired the prizes following a recent controversy over diversity, Publishers Weekly reports. The group will replace the prizes with new awards, called the Vivians in honor of RWA founder Vivian Stephens, an African American editor who championed romance authors of color.

“The Vivian recognizes excellence in romance writing and showcases author talent and creativity,” the RWA said in a letter to its members. “We celebrate the power of the romance genre with its central message of hope—because happily ever afters are for everyone.”

The RWA was the subject of one of the biggest literary controversies of 2019, after the group censured popular author Courtney Milan, who is Chinese American, for criticizing another writer’s book as racially insensitive.

The move caused an intense backlash, leading the group’s president and board of directors to step down. The RWA canceled the 2020 RITA Awards after several authors withdrew their books from contention for the prizes.

On Twitter, Milan said the RWA needs to follow through with meaningful changes, and not just rebrand their old awards system.

“I think it’s meaningful to name a significant genre award after Vivian Stephens,” she wrote. “I think that meaning will be...very diluted...if the award still continues to exclude authors of color in large part.”

Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.