MONDAY 20th MAY 2024 We are delighted to announce the winners for this year’s Romantic Novel of the Year Awards. The ten category winners were presented with their trophies during a ceremony in London this evening.

Celebrating excellence in romantic fiction in all its forms, the awards were given for the following categories: The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award, the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers (sponsored by Simon & Schuster), the Debut Romantic Novel Award (sponsored by Pro Writing Aid), the Christmas/Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award, the Shorter Romantic Novel Award, the Romantic Saga Award, the Romantic Comedy Award, the Historical Romantic Novel Award, the Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, and the Popular Romantic Fiction Award (voted for by readers, librarians, booksellers and book bloggers/reviewers).

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. With the exception of the Popular Romantic Fiction Award, the awards are unique in that they are judged entirely by readers, without input from any industry professionals.

Jean Fullerton, the RNA Chair, commented, “Once again the winners in our prestigious Romantic Novel of the Year Awards are an outstanding example of the much loved romantic genre.”

Sharon Ibbotson, the RNA Awards Coordinator, said, “It’s always a delight to announce the winners of these awards. Our reader-judges have once again selected beautifully written love stories as their favourites of the year, and their authors are worthy of their praise. Congratulations to all our winners, and thanks once again to our reader-judges, without whom these awards could not take place.”

The awards ceremony was held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City. Author Brigid Coady, compèred the ceremony; Sara-Jade Virtue, Brand Development Director, Fiction, at Simon & Schuster UK, presented the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers. Anton Du Beke presented the rest of the awards.

Readers who are interested in becoming a reader-judge for next year’s awards should contact Sharon Ibbotson, the Awards Coordinator, at: rnaawards@romanticwriters.co.uk.

Link to the awards brochure

THE CATEGORIES AND WINNERS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award

Girl, Goddess, Queen, Bea Fitzgerald (Penguin)

The Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers(Sponsored by Simon & Schuster)

The Dance Teacher of Paris, Suzanne Fortin, (Embla Books)

The Debut Romantic Novel Award (Sponsored by Pro Writing Aid)

Be More Octopus, Suzanne Lissaman, (Octosulis Publishing)

The Christmas/Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award

Only for Christmas, Tracy Corbett, (Canelo)

The Shorter Romantic Novel Award

Cinderella’s Deal with the Colonel, Jenni Fletcher, (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

The Romantic Saga Award

A New Start at the Beach Hotel, Francesca Capaldi, (Hera Books)

The Romantic Comedy Award

You’ve Got this, Maxine Morrey (Boldwood Books)

The Historical Romantic Novel Award

The Night she Met the Duke, Sarah Mallory (Harlequin Mills & Boon)

The Contemporary Romantic Novel Award

Evergreens, Liam Brown (Legend Press)

The Popular Romantic Fiction Award

The Wedding Dress Repair Shop, Trisha Ashley (Bantam)

ABOUT THE AWARD SPONSORS

The Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers

Jackie Collins was a creative force, a trailblazer for women in fiction, and, in her own words, ‘A kick-ass writer!’ Since her 1968 debut The World is Full of Married Men, her books have sold in their millions in more than 40 countries and she is one of the world’s top-selling novelists. Ian Chapman, CEO of Simon & Schuster UK and International, said, ‘Jackie was kind, brilliantly astute, with a wicked, mischievous sense of humour. She was a consummate storyteller and made her craft look easy, like all great practitioners. I – along with many others – miss her still and often expect to see her appear suddenly in our midst. We have long made a solemn commitment to ensure that her legacy endures and are incredibly proud to partner with the Romantic Novelists’ Association again to sponsor the Jackie Collins Romantic Thrillers award to support her fellow writers.’

The Debut Romantic Novel Award

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