The Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers
The New Writers’ Scheme aims to encourage fresh talent in the writing of romances and novels with romantic elements, in every genre from historical to futuristic, with characters and love stories that reflect the diversity of readers everywhere. Any NWS manuscript that is subsequently published as a debut novel is eligible for the Joan Hessayon Award, provided that the author has remained in membership of the RNA.
Sponsor: Dr David Hessayon
The award is generously sponsored by Dr David Hessayon in honour of his late wife Joan, who was a long-standing member of the RNA and a great supporter of the New Writers’ Scheme.
Current holder
Previous winners
What is romance?
The Romantic Novelists Association exists to connect, support and champion writers to create their best romantic fiction, as well as championing the genre.
Our definition of romantic fiction is:
A love story with a healthy relationship dynamic between the main characters that results in an uplifting, positive resolution.
Further clarification is provided below:
Essential elements
- Romantic love story (“falling in love”, i.e. not friendships, family, self-love, or any other forms of love)
- Integral to the plot i.e. not an add-on or shoehorned in. The romance thread may be the central plot element, or it may be secondary to another main theme or involve secondary characters, but it must be integral. The romance develops as the other plot elements develop.
- Uplifting, positive ending (the couple are together and with a realistic chance of staying together) – a HEA (Happy Ever After) or HFN (Happy For Now) ending
- Healthy dynamic between the romance characters
- Wide range of spice levels
- The romance arc usually spans a single book, although this may also span multiple books – e.g. in fantasy/romantasy, or in cosy crime, where recurrent characters gradually develop a romance
Relationship elements that mean the work is NOT a romance
- Toxic obsession
- Incest
- Rape
- Abuse (all forms including physical, psychological, financial)
- Stalking
- Non-consensual sex
- Paedophilia
- Power imbalance misused
- Grooming
- Coercion
- Glorification of problematic characters (e.g. a hero/heroine who was a Nazi, took part in the massacre at Wounded Knee, was a groomer, is openly racist)
- Illegal activities
- This list is illustrative and not exhaustive
