We are delighted to announce the shortlists for this year’s Romantic Novel of the Year Awards. The awards celebrate excellence in romantic fiction in all its forms.

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 are as follows: The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award, the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers, the Debut Romantic Novel Award, 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).

Jean Fullerton, RNA Chair, commented, “Yet again the amazing shortlisted books from our annual Romantic Novel of the Year Awards is conclusive proof, if it were needed, that the Romantic genre is going from strength to strength.”

Sharon Ibbotson, the RNA Awards Coordinator, said, “As the romance novel genre moves from strength to strength, the work of our reader-judges to choose the Romantic Novelists’ Associations’ books of the year grows ever more difficult. However, despite the challenge of their task, this year they have chosen a wonderful shortlist of books which reflect the strength, passion and dedication their authors have woven into their novels.

I am delighted for all of our shortlisted authors this year, and proud of our reader-judges for their dedicated work.”

The winners of the awards will be announced during the Romantic Novel Awards ceremony, which is being held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, 8-14 Cooper’s Row, London EC3N 2BQ, on Monday 20th May 2024 at 6.30pm.

Sara-Jade Virtue, Brand Development Director, Fiction, Simon Schuster UK, will present their sponsored category, the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers.

Hayley Milliman, Education Lead, ProwritingAid, will present their sponsored category, the Debut Romantic Novel Award.

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

To purchase tickets please click here

THE CATEGORIES AND SHORTLISTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: (authors are listed alphabetically)

The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award

Girl, Goddess, Queen, Bea Fitzgerald (Penguin)

One Christmas Morning, Rachel Greenlaw (Harper Collins)

Maybe Next Time, Cesca Major (Harper Fiction)

Ghosted, Rosie Mullender (Sphere)

The Wicked in Me, Suzanne Wright (Piatkus)

The Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers

Viscount in Hiding, Caitlyn Callery (The Wild Rose Press)

Julie Mae Cohen, Bad men (Bonnier Zaffre)

The Secret of Villa Alba, Louise Douglas (Boldwood)

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

Masquerade on the Riviera, Evonne Wareham (Choc Lit/Joffe)

The Debut Romantic Novel Award

One Moment, Becky Hunter (Corvus (Atlantic))

Be More Octopus, Suzanne Lissaman (Octosulis Publishing)

The Little Board Game Cafe, Jennifer Page (Aria (Head of Zeus))

A Mother’s War, Helen Parusel (Boldwood Books)

The Accidental Housemate, Sal Thomas (One More Chapter)

The Christmas/Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award

Only for Christmas, Tracy Corbett (Canelo)

One Winter’s Night, Kate Frost (Boldwood)

The Christmas Season, Ally Sinclair (Hera)

Three Holidays and a Wedding, Marissa Stapley (Atlantic Books)

Snowed In, Catherine Walsh (Bookouture)

The Shorter Romantic Novel Award

Becoming the Earl’s Convenient Wife, Louise Allen (Harlequin Mills Boon)

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

Tempted by her Fake Fiance, Kate Hardy (Harlequin Mills Boon)

The Housekeeper’s Forbidden Earl, Laura Martin (Harlequin Mills Boon)

Lonely in Paris, Lisa Stanbridge (Crystal Brook Publishing)

The Romantic Saga Award

The Secret Sister, Jan Baynham (Choc Lit/Joffe Books)

A Woman of Courage, Rita Bradshaw (Pan Macmillan)

The Distant Legacy, Anne Marie Brear (self-published)

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

A Wedding for the Cornish Girls, Betty Walker (Avon Books)

The Romantic Comedy Award

Chasing the Light, Julia Boggio (self-published)

The Break Up Clause, Niamh Hargan (HarperCollins)

Jana Goes Wild, Farah Heron (Piatkus Books-Little Brown Book Group)

Looking Out for Love, Sophia Money-Coutts (Harper Collins (HQ)

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

The Historical Romantic Novel Award

The Flame Tree, Siobhan Daiko (Indie)

The Secret Shore, Liz Fenwick (HQ Harper Collins)

Never Wager With a Wallflower, Virginia Heath (MacMillan)

A Secret Garden Affair, Erica James (HQ)

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

The Contemporary Romantic Novel Award

A Midnight Kiss on Ever After Street, Jaimie Admans (Boldwood)

Evergreens, Liam Brown (Legend Press)

Summer at the Chateau, Annabel French (Avon/HarperCollins)

Summer Wedding, Sarah Morgan (HQ Harper Collins)

The Start of Something Wonderful, Jessica Redland (Boldwood Books)

The Popular Fiction Romantic Novel Award

The Wedding Dress Repair Shop, Trisha Ashley (Bantam)

One Night in Hartswood, Emma Denny (Harlequin Mills Boon)

Thirty Days in Paris, Veronica Henry (Orion)

Fly Me to Paris, Helga Jensen (Hera Books)

Bridget’s War, Shirley Mann (Zaffre)

We would like to give a special thank you to the sponsors of the 2024 awards for their support and sponsorship.

If anyone would like to sponsor an award please contact:

Karen Abbotts rnapr@romanticwriters.co.uk

pressofficer@romanticwriters.co.uk

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 Novel Award

ProWritingAid uses AI to check your writing for spelling and grammar, alongside powerful reports to help you improve readability, consistency and more. With ProWritingAid, you receive feedback tailored to your specific document type. You can use ProWritingAid for spelling, grammar and style suggestions to improve your writing, and even join our writing community to connect with other writers and participate in free events with bestselling authors. Website: https://prowritingaid.com/