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ROMANTIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARDS
HOSTED BY PRUE LEITH
The RNA was formed in 1960 to promote romantic fiction and encourage good writing and now represents more than 850 writers, agents, editors and other publishing professionals. The Romantic Novel of the Year Award was launched in the same year, and recognises excellence in romantic novels thereby enhancing the standing of the genre.
The RNA has always involved readers in judging the awards. Keen readers are asked to rate nominated books on a number of criteria including romantic content, readability, characters, plot, dialogue, style and ending. These readers’ favourites are then presented to the expert independent judges, who decide the overall winners.
For the first time in the awards’ history the shortlist includes both traditionally and independently published authors, and a new category has been introduced this year. The Paranormal or Speculative Romance Novel category is for romantic novels that include elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, whether paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, time slip or worlds that include ghosts, vampires or creatures of legend.
The awards now comprise seven categories – Contemporary Romantic Novel, Epic Romantic Novel, Historical Romantic Novel, Paranormal or Speculative Romantic Novel, Romantic Comedy Novel, the RoNA Rose Award (for shorter and category romance), and Young Adult Romantic Novel – with a range of authors shortlisted for each one.
Once the category winners have been announced, the winner of each category will go forward to compete for the overall prize of The Goldsboro’ Books Romantic Novel of the Year Award. Prue Leith will then reveal the author whose book has won the RNA's most prestigious and coveted award, along with a cheque for £5000 (five thousand pounds).
This year two Outstanding Achievement Awards will be presented, honouring the contribution to the world of books and publishing by two notable individuals, to be announced on the night.
Prue Leith, who was said to be replacing 'Mary Berry' on the Great British Bake Off, has said 'I wished I knew if I had the Great British Bake-Off Job or not'. Love Productions who own the rights to the show pulled out of the BBC and relocated to Channel 4 earlier on in 2016. Leith also says 'the money she's supposed to be being paid is a rumour as well'.
However, Leith did talk to us about how much she 'loves writing novels', and her wish is 'one day for people to recognise [her] for one of my novels before my cooking fame'.
Leith has recently wrote her seventh novel named 'The Prodigal Daughter'. A story about an eighteen year old girl, named 'Angelica'. She's at a cookery school in Paris in the sixties who falls in love with her unsuitable Italian cousin, and her rocky journey from naive enthusiast to top caterer and telly chef.
On her website, she says: I set this website up in the hopes that it would persuade the world that I’m not a cook or restaurateur anymore, but now a full-time novelist. I doubt if it has done that. I still get more website requests for recipes than questions about how to be a published writer. But I do find myself doing far more talks about books than food these days, and I do have the occasional joy of a reader coming up to tell me that she (it’s usually a she) has read all my novels, and where is the next one?.
To follow more on this years Awards Winners, visit — http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/
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