Publisher Mills & Boon is a finalist in the Inclusion Award category for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s (RNA) annual Industry Awards for 2022. The awards celebrate the hard work and talent of any person, group or organisation who has championed the broad genre of romantic fiction in a positive way, with the Inclusion award recognising the individual or organisation that has championed inclusivity in romantic authorship and publishing.

Mills & Boon is the UK’s #1 publisher of romantic fiction. Sweeping readers off their feet for over 100 years, a Mills & Boon novel is sold once every ten seconds. It publishes themed series romances, as well as standalone novels ranging from historical to contemporary settings. Mills & Boon recently published Georgia Toffolo’s bestselling Meet me in… romance series; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York’s Sunday Times bestselling historical romance debut Her Heart for a Compass; and Until I Met You, the debut novel by Love Island winner, Amber Rose Gill. In 2023 Mills & Boon will publish One Night in Hartswood by debut author Emma Denny, winner of the LGBTQI+ competition Romance Includes Everyone. Mills & Boon is also proud to publish the hugely successful Virgin River series by Robyn Carr, and Sweet Magnolias series by Sherryl Woods, both now major Netflix series. With a fresh and modern approach to romance, Mills & Boon promises a happy-ever-after every time.

Lisa Milton, Executive Publisher, commented, ‘I’m thrilled that Mills & Boon has been shortlisted for the RNA’s Inclusion Award for 2022. Inclusion is at the core of Mills & Boon’s publishing and marketing strategy, and to be recognised within this category shows that we’re on the way to delivering our promise to publish romance for every reader. Mills & Boon continues to innovate to reflect romance readers and writers today. Being shortlisted for this award is testament to our commitment to improve diversity and representation within the romance genre, and our innovative ways of reaching and nurturing romance-reading communities.’

Laura James, the RNA Industry Awards organiser, added, ‘I congratulate each and every finalist and thank them and the industry for the unwavering love they show writers and readers of romantic fiction.’

The awards have been held for the past eight years and are highly respected in the UK publishing industry. The finalists are nominated by the full and probationary membership of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, with a panel of independent judges selecting the shortlists.

The award categories are: The Romantic Bookseller of the Year, Inclusion Award, Indie Champion of the Year, Library or Librarian of the Year, Indie Editor of the Year, Cover Designer of the Year, Narrator of the Year, Media Star of the Year, Agent of the Year, and Publisher and / or Editor of the Year.

The winners of the ten awards will be announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Winter Party and Industry Awards ceremony, which is being held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, 8-14 Cooper’s Row, London EC3N 2BQ, on Friday 11th November 2022 at 6.30pm.

This year’s awards are sponsored by ProWritingAid, a manuscript editing software programme with in-app video learning for writers.