When I was approached back in 2016 with a view to taking over the organising of the Romantic Novel Awards from Nicola Cornick, I have to admit my knees began to shake. Nicola followed a long line of equally super-efficient coordinators, all of whom had helped the system to grow and develop in different ways. It’s been a fascinating few years though, learning the ropes, meeting hundreds of writers, agents, publishers and avid readers online and experiencing the amazing diversity of romantic fiction as it is today.
These RNA awards are unique in that eight of them are completely reader-judged by up to 300 volunteers who are passionate about reading romantic fiction. Every spring, the regular panel of judges are re-recruited with some additions, and once the books begin to flood in (all ebooks now, which has been a blessing in this year of being extra-aware of passing on germs) the organiser is responsible for allocating batches of books to readers for a set period. We close for business on September 30th or when the cap of 500 entries is reached, whichever comes first, but allocation and judging continues way into the autumn until every book has been read and scored.
In addition to this, my hard-working colleague Laura James will be publicising and collating votes from librarians, book bloggers and book sellers as they nominate their favourite book of the year for the Popular Fiction Award which is presented at the same time as the other category prizes for Contemporary, Romantic Comedy, Debut, Fantasy, Shorter Romances, Historical, Saga and Thrillers. We endeavour to promote diversity and inclusion so that romance in all its forms is fully represented.
The results are strictly confidential until careful moderation of the judging process by a panel of experts has been completed, after which short lists are consolidated. Even then, only those on the lists are notified and asked to keep the secret until the announcements are formally made in February. In early March at a glittering ceremony and party in the heart of London, the final results are revealed and the trophies presented by a different celebrity each time. The final presentation is always the Outstanding Achievement Award, won in 2020 by the wonderful Milly Johnson who brought the house down and reduced everyone to tears with her moving and encouraging speech.
This showcase event is an ideal way to promote all genres of romance, to give members the chance to mingle with publishers, agents and fellow authors and to highlight the fact that romantic novels become more popular with every year that passes and that writers of romance should be celebrated for bringing much needed joy into the world of books. In this time of pandemic troubles, the format for the 2021 event will need to be carefully considered but rest assured, the winners and short-listees will still be celebrated with as much pomp and ceremony as we can safely achieve. They are all stars.
Celia Anderson was a primary teacher and assistant headteacher before deciding to leave it all behind to write full time. She has been an enthusiastic member of the RNA since 2011, having graduated through the wonderful New Writers’ Scheme and made many good friends along the way. With Harper Fiction she has recently published The Pengelly Series (59 Memory Lane and The Cottage of Curiosities). There are more to come…