Image credit by Camilo Queipo Photography

Hertfordshire author, Dani Atkins, has WON the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers with her novel, Six Days, for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s (RNA) annual Romantic Novel Awards for 2023. The awards celebrate excellence in romantic fiction in all its forms.

Dani is the author of nine novels and one novella. Her first book Fractured has been translated into over twenty languages since its publication in 2013. She lives in the Hertfordshire countryside in a 350-year-old cottage, which to her great disappointment is not haunted. She has held a variety of jobs: secretary, interviewer, and Work Experience co-ordinator, but her favourite role was that of mum to her two children who’ve now grown up and left home. Now her days are filled with writing, spending time with her exceedingly patient husband, and trying out dialogue for her books on her border collie Dusty during their morning walks.

She commented, ‘Receiving an award that honours one of your literary heroes is an amazing feeling. I couldn’t be more thrilled.’

Jean Fullerton, the RNA Chair, commented, ‘Once again the judges have had the almost impossible task of choosing winners for each of our romantic awards categories. Huge congratulations to our worthy winners.’

Sharon Ibbotson, the RNA Awards Coordinator, said, ‘Our Romantic Novel Awards in 2023 had nearly five hundred entries, which were whittled down to nine very worthy winners by our amazing reader-judges. Along with the winner of the Popular Romantic Fiction Award, their stories made people laugh, smile, weep and above all, fall in love. I am delighted to congratulate them for their success in our awards.’

The awards, which have been held since their inception in 1960, are highly respected in the UK publishing industry. Previous winners include Santa Montefiore, Joe Heap, Julie Cohen and Milly Johnson. The awards are unique in that they are judged entirely by readers, without input from any industry professionals.

The award categories for this year were as follows: The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award, the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers, the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award, the Christmas/Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award, the Shorter Romantic Novel Award, the Romantic Saga Award, the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy, the Historical Romantic Novel Award, the Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, and the Popular Romantic Fiction Award (voted for by librarians, booksellers and book bloggers/reviewers).

The winners of the awards were announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Novel Awards ceremony, which was held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City on Monday 6th March 2023.

SIX DAYS BOOK BLURB (Publisher: Aria (Head of Zeus))

When Finn fails to show up at his own wedding everyone thinks Gemma has been jilted … except her. The police won’t help, so Gemma spends the next six days looking for Finn, uncovering some shocking revelations in her search. How long can she keep her faith when everyone is telling her to let Finn go?

DANI ATKINS’ MEDIA DETAILS

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