Romance Reading Month 2021 Runs all of Feb 2021

THIS EVENT RUNS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

Celebrate Romantic Fiction this February with the Romantic Novelists’ Association

Due to the success of the inaugural Romance Reading Month in 2020 which took place when things were still relatively normal in the world, the Romantic Novelists’ Association have decided to do it all over again this February. The aim of the month is to raise awareness of and celebrate Romantic Fiction in all its beautiful forms, explore the various sub genres and share widely the diversity amongst romantic authors, stories, characters and themes.

The month will start with an exciting announcement of the shortlistees for the Romantic Novel Awards which will take place in early March. 

February will also see the start of the newly launched RNA Learning courses, the first one being ‘All you need is a six pack’ by Anna Sugden which provides writers with advice on how to develop a toolkit that works for them. For more information on these exciting and informative courses please visit https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/rna-learning-intro-page/

Romance Reading Month provides the Romantic Novelists’ Association with an opportunity to support their allies in libraries and bookshops. Libraries are a fantastic resource for communities, and did you know that every time you borrow a library book then an author gets their wings? Well, that’s not quite true, but they do receive a small remuneration, and after all every little helps. 

Week 1 from the 1st -7th February will be Love My Library Week where normally readers would be encouraged to borrow library books and post pictures of their haul to @RNAtweets on twitter and @romanticnovelists on Instagram, but under the current circumstances with libraries being closed the RNA would like to hear about your library stories. Did you fall in love in a library? Or maybe a librarian helped to change your life in some way? Make sure to tag your local library too using the hashtag #LoveMyLibraryWeek. 

Week 2 from the 8th – 14th will be a celebration of independent bookshops. Bookshops have suffered terribly throughout the pandemic, and this is a chance for everyone to help support their local. The RNA had hoped that bookshops would be open again by now so that readers could buy romance books and share their pictures across social media but unfortunately that wasn’t to be. Therefore, please support your local bookshop by posting about your bookshop heroes and stories and what it is you love about them to @RNAtweets on twitter and @romanticnovelists on Instagram using the hashtag #LoveMyIndieBookshopWeek You could also try ordering from them online and next time they open why not buy book tokens for Christmas and birthday presents?

Week 2 also includes an exciting opportunity for members of the RNA: from 8pm on Friday 12th – 8am on Monday 15th Simon and Schuster will be inviting submissions exclusively from RNA members for their #DigitalOriginals initiative. Here’s the link for more information http://booksandthecity.co.uk/rnaoneday/ 

Week 3 from the 15th – 21st will be focusing on the diversity of Romantic Fiction with celebrations of authors, characters and stories from under-represented groups to show that love stories are for everyone and every ‘body’. 

Throughout the week the Rainbow chapter will be recommending books by LGBTQIA+ authors and on the 15th will be taking part in a live panel on the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Facebook group exclusively for RNA members, from 7.30pm – 8.30pm. 

The panel will discuss some of the issues and opportunities in writing romantic novels—from pronouns to intersecting identities, from avoiding stereotypes to creating new genre crossovers. This panel is ideal for writers of rainbow romance, or anyone who would like to learn more about how to make their writing more diverse and dynamic. The panellists include: Brigid Coady—Joan Hessayon Award winner, Ariel Goodbody—Queer paranormal romance author, Mel Gough—Queer romance and mystery author, Ally Lester—Queer historical paranormal romance author, Liam Livings—Award-shortlisted gay romance author. Chair: Julie Cohen—RNA Inclusion Award winner 2020.

The Rainbow Chapter can be followed on twitter @RNARainbow.

On the 17th Feb the spotlight will be shining on romance books by and about people of colour and from 7.30pm – 8.30pm RNA authors will be taking part on a live panel on the RNA’s public Facebook page where they will be discussing how much of their multicultural heritage they write into their characters/settings. They will also discuss their experiences of how their diverse protagonists and characters have been received among their readers, and also reactions and feedback from the publishing industry when they were seeking agents/publishers. The panellists include romance novelists Rhoda Baxter/Jeevani Charika, Frances Williams and Marilyn Rodwell, and will be chaired by Imogen Howson, RNA Chair. To watch the panel search for @Romantic.Novelists.Association on Facebook.

To round off the week on the 19th the DISCO Chapter will be celebrating by shouting about books by people living with disabilities/chronic conditions or writing characters with those conditions.  To find out more about all of the above please follow the hashtag #RNADiverseLoveWeek

The final week from 22nd – 28th will be a celebration of romance authors and book bloggers in general, with the 22nd being a day where members of the organisation can tweet @RNAtweets or post to @romanticnovelists on Instagram describing in one sentence what the RNA means to them using the hashtag #TheRNAAndMe this could be a video message or typed.

Author, book blogger and head of publicity at Bookouture Kim Nash will be interviewing a panel of RNA award-winning book bloggers including Anne Williams, Linda Hill and Julie Morris at 7pm on the 24th February live from the RNA Facebook page @Romantic.Novelists.Association so tune in to find out what it’s like to be a blogger and what they look for in a protagonist and a leading man. The 25th will be a day to share favourite books by independent authors using the hashtag #RNAIndieAuthors. There will also be author, blogger, librarian and bookseller interviews on the RNA blog throughout the month.

For more details about Romance Reading Month or about the Romantic Novelists’ Association please visit the website www.RomanticNovelistsAssociation.org

Calendar of Events:

1st –   Announcement of shortlistees for Romantic Novel Awards

        RNA Learning Courses starting

1st– 7th  #LoveMyLibraryWeek 

8th -14th #LoveMyIndieBookshopWeek

15th – 21st #RNADiverseLoveWeek

15th – Rainbow Chapter Celebration, share LGBQT+ books, authors and characters using the hashtag above. 

17th – Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Celebrations, share books by BAME authors and/ or featuring BAME characters. 

19th – DISCO Chapter Celebration share books by people living with disabilities/chronic conditions or writing characters with dis/cc @RNADISCO 

22nd – 28th  #RomanceReadingMonth #AuthorsAndBookBloggersWeek

24th Feb Book blogger celebration

25th Indie Authors

Follow us

Facebook: @Romantic.Novelists.Association

Twitter: @RNATweets

Instagram: @romanticnovelists

Resources

Download Newsletter for Romance Reading Month 2021

Download Poster for Libraries

Download Poster for Booksellers