The aim of the grants is to improve access to the RNA and its activities for people who are experiencing significant, persistent financial challenges. This includes people from all backgrounds and demographics. It is part of the RNA’s commitment to making the RNA the writing organisation of choice for all authors of romantic fiction, regardless of their background and what they write.

The scheme will be funded through RNA income and individuals’ donations. This income will be used to support the provision of access grants. A limited number of grants will be awarded each year. When the fund is spent there will be no further grants awarded in that financial year until the fund is replenished.

Access grants can only be allocated to a specific RNA activity or service. The funding amount will be matched to that activity thereby ensuring flexibility to individual needs, enabling the individual to access an activity which they may not have otherwise been able to access. Individuals may for example apply for a grant for activities* such as:

• One year’s full or NWS membership of the RNA
• Entry to awards
• A place at an RNA event
• Attendance at an RNA course
• Grants are not available for non-RNA activities such as equipment, writing retreats or non-RNA courses.

*Subject to availability

Individuals will not receive the funds personally. Instead the requested activity will be funded from the access grants fund on behalf of the individual. No cash alternatives are available.

Applicants must produce two types of evidence:

1. Evidence of commitment to writing romantic fiction
2. Evidence of financial hardship
3. Commitment to writing romantic fiction

To ensure grants are awarded to people who are committed to writing romantic fiction, applicants must submit the following as part of their application:

• 5,000-10,000 word sample of their fiction
• Synopsis of their whole story

The content must reflect the RNA definition of romance:

Romantic fiction is a broad genre. The samples should have an exploration of romantic love as an overarching theme of the story. Eligible stories can therefore range from a romance novel that focuses primarily on the developing relationship between two or more protagonists to novels that tackle a number of different themes but have a love story as one of their prime elements.

These samples will not be assessed for quality by the RNA Access Grants Panel, but they are included in the applications as evidence of the commitment to writing romantic fiction. They will be assessed by the panel to ensure they meet the above definition of romantic fiction.

1. Evidence of financial hardship
   To ensure grants are awarded to those in genuine, significant, and persistent financial need, applicants must provide evidence confirming that the applicant (not a family member) is in receipt of government means-tested benefits such as PIP, universal credit, unemployment benefits, or sickness benefits, or equivalent in the applicant’s jurisdiction. Such evidence is not required at the time of application, but will be necessary if the applicant is successful and receives a conditional offer of a grant.

Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application via email. Applicants may appeal a decision in writing, within ten working days of receipt of decision.

Details of demographic information related to applicants will be collected anonymously, for monitoring purposes, but will not form part of the decision-making process.

The RNA Access Grant is a ring-fenced budget renewed each year. It is funded from a one pound contribution from each member’s membership fee. As it is a limited budget the Access Grant panel considers all the applications each year in November against the criteria set out below.

Applications for membership (any category) take precedence over applications for conference and/or training.

Successive applications (e.g., previously granted membership fee) will be assessed against criteria, alongside other applicants and not automatically granted.

In recommending an access grant to fund renewal of membership the applicant’s commitment to being an active member of the RNA will be taken into consideration.

In the event of applicants being equally ranked, funding will be allocated by the first letter of the surname in a randomly selected sequence.

In the event two candidates have the same surname the funding amount will be split and partial funding shall be awarded.

All applications are considered together by the Access Grant Panel using the criteria outlined above.

Your application will be considered in the next tranche i.e. the following Sept/Oct intake. However, it is recommended that you wait until 1st September to apply as the information supplied may be of date e.g. proof of hardship, and/or the criteria for allocating funds might have changed.

The Access Grant Panel meets in November each year to consider all applications. A decision will be made and applicants informed by the end of that calendar year.

Unfortunately, you would not be eligible to apply for this scheme, on the basis you aren’t in receipt of a government means-tested benefit.

The access grants are for the recipients, who are in severe, ongoing financial need, rather than someone the applicant lives with, or is related to, or married to.

We have to ensure these grants go to those in the most financial need. The fairest and clearest way of doing this is for them to be awarded to those who are receiving government means-tested benefits. If we looked at wider factors, the parameters around this are much less clear and could result in the grants being awarded to those who weren’t in the most financial need. 

The RNA has a New Writers’ Scheme to develop the quality of individuals’ writing until it is ready for publication. You can submit a synopsis of your story, and the first 5000 words, as part of your application, regardless of the quality of the writing; as long as it meets the definition of romantic fiction, your application will be reviewed by the panel.

To ensure commitment to writing romantic fiction, evidence of your writing’s existence, and not of its quality, is part of the application process for access grants.

We would need to review the writing and synopsis, to be sure, but on the basis of your story including a romance it is likely that it fits within the RNA’s definition of romantic fiction. To be sure check the RNA definition of romance below.

The Romantic Novelists Association exists to connect, support and champion writers to create their best romance and romantic fiction stories, as well as championing the genre.

Our definition of romance 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 main characters 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 racist)
• Illegal activities
• This list is illustrative and not exhaustive

Romantic fiction and women’s fiction may include romantic plots or subplots that do not end in a Happily Ever After or a Happily For Now. However, these plots should not include any problematic elements as listed above.

Yes, you do, as we need to monitor the demographics of those we give access grants to, as part of our aim to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation for all authors. However, these demographic details are collected anonymously, not linked to specific applications, and are not seen by the Access Grants Panel. If applicants didn’t share these anonymously collected demographics details we can’t monitor the impact of these access grants on increasing a wider range of members to join the RNA and use its activities.

It is standard for organisations to anonymously collect these details as part of their activities, including for job applications, awarding money or other business activities. These details are collected anonymously and stored in accordance with GDPR as special category data, to monitor the impact of awarding these access grants on widening participation of a broader range of individuals using RNA activities.

We based these on the categories from the UK Census 2021, as they are also being collected anonymously for demographic monitoring only.

We’re only collecting these details, anonymously, for demographic monitoring purposes, to identify how many access grants are awarded to individuals who are different from the majority of RNA members. Therefore there is no purpose for us collecting data on multiple sub-categories of these elements. We have based the categories on questions used in the UK Census 2021.

We have based the categories on questions used in the UK Census 2021. Please choose the category which is nearest to how you describe yourself.

This is to check if there is a conflict of interests with a member of the panel, or whether the individual has already been in receipt of an access grant.

We are always grateful when people donate money and the funds would be added to the Access Grant fund.

The demographics of applicants for this scheme are not used to decide whether people receive the grants or not. The grants are awarded on the basis of financial hardship. While we anonymously monitor demographics of successful applicants to track how this scheme supports our wider diversity and inclusion aims, the grants can’t be earmarked for a specific demographic of individuals as that goes against the goal of the access grants, that of awarding those in the most financial need.