Reviewers International Organization, Inc is an offshoot of the Review list onYahoo Groups, which was organized to specifically meet the needs of those reviewing genre fiction for both online and print publications.

We've discussed everything from the craft of reviewing to our favorite reads to how to say we didn't like a book in the most professional way. Many of us have since met in person and we've formed a bond that those in similar situations usually do.

To help make our presence known, we presented our first awards in early 1999 for books published the previous year, which were received with great acceptance. These awards are now given every year and had been named in honor of famous reviewer, Dorothy Parker.

In 2003, this award was renamed the RIO Award of Excellence.

To make this organization official we have legitimized it as Reviewers International Organization, Inc, which reflects what we do and who our members are.