Image credit: Camilo Queipo Photography

WEDNESDAY 8TH MARCH 2023 Television journalist and author, Emily Kerr, who lives near Harrogate, has WON the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy category with her novel, Take a Chance on Greece, for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s (RNA) annual Romantic Novel Awards for 2023. The awards celebrate excellence in romantic fiction in all its forms.

Emily is an author of feel-good romantic comedies and has been scribbling stories on bits of paper ever since she could write. She studied Classics at the University of Oxford, then did an MA in Broadcast Journalism. She juggles writing fiction with her day job as a television journalist based in Yorkshire. She loves travelling, and Greece in particular has a special place in her heart.

She commented, ‘I’m so honoured and delighted that Take A Chance On Greece has won the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy. I wrote the book during the pandemic when going to Greece felt like an impossible dream. It was a joy to be able to travel there in my imagination instead, and I’m so glad that the book has struck a chord with readers. It’s a real privilege to write stories which hopefully provide some feel-good escapism and put a smile on people’s faces.’

Jean Fullerton, the RNA Chair, commented, ‘Once again the judges have had the almost impossible task of choosing winners for each of our romantic awards categories. Huge congratulations to our worthy winners.’

Sharon Ibbotson, the RNA Awards Coordinator, said, ‘Our Romantic Novel Awards in 2023 had nearly five hundred entries, which were whittled down to nine very worthy winners by our amazing reader-judges. Along with the winner of the Popular Romantic Fiction Award, their stories made people laugh, smile, weep and above all, fall in love. I am delighted to congratulate them for their success in our awards.’

The awards, which have been held since their inception in 1960, are highly respected in the UK publishing industry. Previous winners include Santa Montefiore, Joe Heap, Julie Cohen and Milly Johnson. The awards are unique in that they are judged entirely by readers, without input from any industry professionals.

The award categories for this year were as follows: The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award, the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers, the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award, the Christmas/Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award, the Shorter Romantic Novel Award, the Romantic Saga Award, the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy, the Historical Romantic Novel Award, the Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, and the Popular Romantic Fiction Award (voted for by librarians, booksellers and book bloggers/reviewers).

The winners of the awards were announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Novel Awards ceremony, which was held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City on Monday 6th March 2023.

TAKE A CHANCE ON GREECE BOOK BLURB (Publisher: One More Chapter)

When Lydia wakes after a night out in Kefalonia with a tattoo saying ‘Awesome Andreas’ she sets out to find the man who inspired her inking. But perhaps she’s looking in the wrong places, and Mr Right is closer than she realises, if only she’d take a chance on him …

EMILY KERR’S MEDIA DETAILS

Website: emilykerrwrites.com
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