South Lanarkshire audiobook narrator, Helen McAlpine, is a finalist in the Narrator of the Year 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.

Helen, who lives in Biggar, graduated from Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, in 2001 and since then has worked extensively in theatre, television, radio and voice over. Her recent credits include Peaches and Mama Jones in Netflix’s animated series Ridley Jones (UK edit), and Pinkie, Boo Whale, Black Cat and Ruby in new animated series Mumfie. She is married to a lovely man with a fantastic beard and lives happily with their two children and two dogs near the Scottish Borders.

She commented, ‘I’m absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for this award. Recording audiobooks is a great pleasure of mine, finding the characters and telling their stories and making them as honest and truthful (and funny) as they can be is hugely rewarding. I’m genuinely over the moon to have been nominated and to have made the shortlist is a real honour.’

 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.