We are delighted to announce that Simon & Schuster UK Ltd’s women’s fiction community – Books and the City – is to sponsor the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Award 2019.

The RNA’s awards are the only national literary prizes that recognise excellence in the genre of romantic fiction and in 2019 they will comprise the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year, the Goldsboro Books Historical Romantic Novel of the Year, the Books and the City Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year, a Fantasy Romantic Novel of the Year, a Shorter Romantic Novel of the Year Award and a Debut Romantic Novel of the Year Award, sponsored by bestselling author Katie Fforde.  The RNA will continue to present an Outstanding Achievement Award to a writer who has made an extraordinary contribution to the field of romantic fiction. This year the recipient was Jilly Cooper. For 2019 the winner will be chosen from nominations from the RNA’s members.

RNA Chair Nicola Cornick said: “There could be no more exciting match than between the dynamic Books and the City fiction community and the RNA’s Romantic Comedy of the Year Award. We are thrilled to be working with Books and the City and developing ongoing links with Simon & Schuster.”

Books and the City Brand Director Sara-Jade Virtue said: ‘I’m immensely proud of Books and the City. When we launched the project nearly 9 years ago, no other publishing house was connecting directly with readers in the way we aimed to, and the responses we’ve had from readers, writers and the industry has been amazing. Over the years, we’ve launched industry first initiatives including the Heat Holiday Reads free eBook offer and our #DigitalOriginals publishing programme which has launched the successful careers of, amongst others, Heidi Swain, Holly Hepburn and Penny Parkes, and so I’m very much looking forward to working closely for the first time with the RNA – an organisation I admire and respect greatly – by sponsoring the Romantic Comedy Award next year.  Championing the varied and diverse work of romantic fiction authors is at the heart and soul of everything we do at Books and the City, and we look forward to watching the development of the new RNA Inclusivity Initiatives with much excitement.”