2013 Romantic Novelist's Association Awards

I really like book awards, I love reading through the longlists, and then the shortlists - spotting books that I've loved, ones that I've been disappointed with, and ones that have passed me by.  I love adding to the wishlist too!

The Category Shortlists for the Romantic Novelist's Association Awards were announced on the RNA website yesterday.  The following is taken from their website:

The 2013 RoNA Awards

Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley will announce the winners from a shortlist of thirty authors vying to be named the winner of their category in the Romantic Novel Awards (RoNA) 2013 presented by the Romantic Novelists' Association. They will also reveal the winner of the RoNA Rose Award.  These announcements will be made on 26 February during a glittering reception in London.

Each category winner will receive an elegant crystal trophy as a mark of their success. They then go forward to contest the RNA's most coveted award, the Romantic Novel of the Year (RoNA), which will be announced on 16th May.
   
The categories for which the 30 shortlisted authors are competing are:
Contemporary Romantic Novel, Epic Romantic Novel, Historical Romantic Novel, Romantic Comedy Novel and Young Adult Romantic Novel.

Additionally, shorter fiction authors - known as category/series and magazine serial authors - will learn who has won the RoNA Rose award. This award is not in contention for the Romantic Novel of the Year award.

The shortlisted novels cover the whole spectrum of topics and subjects and readers can expect everything from rollicking romantic comedies, cheeky and bold heroines to highly charged historical drama and dangerous heart-throbs.

Each novel submitted has been awarded a mark by a panel of three independent readers drawn from a list of around 100 volunteers. The readers, who are not members of the RNA, come from a variety of backgrounds and range in age from 20 to 85. They all have one thing in common, a passion for romantic novels.

In previous years winners have included such well-known and much loved names as Philippa Gregory, Joanna Trollope, Freya North and Rosamunde Pilcher.

For the past 50 years the RNA has set the benchmark in romantic fiction and current Chair, Annie Ashurst, who writes as Sara Craven, commented, "We exist to encourage good writing of romantic fiction in all its many guises. We're delighted that so many publishers took the opportunity to put forward their authors for these prestigious awards. And we are extraordinarily proud of our shortlisted authors - they're all winners in our book!"

I'm delighted to spot some of my favourite authors amongst the shortlist.  There are also quite a few books on there that I really like the sound of and will be checking out very soon.