Romantic Novelists' Association Awards

RoNA Award
Awarded for	Excellence in romance novel
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	Romantic Novelists' Association
First awarded	1960
Website	romanticnovelistsassociation.org/awards

The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award).^[1]

In 2018, awards were given to men under their own names for the first time in the organisation's 58-year history^[2]

Awards[]

Romantic Novel of the Year a.k.a. RoNA Award a.k.a. Popular Romantic Fiction[]

This award recognises the best long romance novels.

Winners[]

• 2021: Sing Me a Secret by (Aria, Head of Zeus)^[3]
• 2020: The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton by (Simon & Schuster)^[4]
• 2019: You Me Everything by Catherine Isaac (Simon & Schuster)^[5]
• 2018: This Love by (Simon & Schuster)^[6]
• 2017: Love Song by Sophia Bennett (Chicken House)^[7]
• 2016: Letters to the Lost by (Simon & Schuster)^[8]
• 2015: Struck by Joss Stirling (Oxford University Press)^[9]
• 2014: A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry (Orion)^[10]
• 2013: Welcome to Rosie Hopkin's Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan (Sphere, Little Brown)^[11][12]
• 2012: Please Don't Stop The Music by Jane Lovering (Choc Lit)^[13]
• 2011: The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes (Hodder & Stoughton)^[14]
• 2010: Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts by Lucy Dillon (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 2009: East of the Sun by Julia Gregson (Orion)
• 2008: Pillow Talk by Freya North (Harper Collins)
• 2007: Iris & Ruby by Rosie Thomas (Harper Collins)
• 2006: Gardens of Delight by Erica James (Orion)
• 2005: A Good Voyage by Katharine Davies (Chatto & Windus)
• 2004: Foreign Fruit by Jojo Moyes (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 2003: Playing James by Sarah Mason (Time Warner)
• 2002: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Harper Collins)
• 2001: Someone Like You by Cathy Kelly (Harper Collins)
• 2000: Dancing In The Dark by Maureen Lee (Orion)
• 1999: Learning To Swim by Clare Chambers (Arrow)
• 1998: Kiss And Kin by Angela Lambert (Bantam)
• 1997: The Hours Of The Night by Sue Gee (Century)
• 1996: Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 1995: Change Of Heart by Charlotte Bingham (Doubleday)
• 1994: Consider The Lily by Elizabeth Buchan (Macmillan)
• 1993: Emily by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (Sidgwick & Jackson)
• 1992: Sandstorm by June Knox-Mawer (Weidenfeld)
• 1991: Phantom by Susan Kay (Transworld)
• 1990: Passing Glory by Reay Tannahill (Century)
• 1989: The Peacock's Feather by Sarah Woodhouse (Century)
• 1988: The Juniper Bush by Audrey Howard (Century)
• 1987: A Better World Than This by Marie Joseph (Century)
• 1986: A Song Twice Over by Brenda Jagger (Collins)
• 1985: Sunrise by Rosie Thomas (Piatkus)
• 1984: A Highly Respectable Marriage by Sheila Walsh (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1983: Magic Flutes by Eva Ibbotson (Century)
• 1982: Zemindar by (Bodley)
• 1981: The Red Staircase by Gwendoline Butler (Collins)
• 1980: Parson Harding's Daughter by Joanna Trollope (Hutchinson)
• 1980 - Best Modern Award: by Mary Howard (Collins)
• 1979 - Award Of Special Merit: The Emerald Peacock by Katharine Gordon (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 1979: Countess by Josephine Edgar (Macdonald & Jane)
• 1978: Merlin's Keep by Madeleine Brent (Souvenir)
• 1978 - Best Modern Award: It Was The Lark by (Macdonald & Jane)
• 1977: Every Man A King by Anne Worboys (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 1976: The Look Of Innocence by Anna Gilbert (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 1976 - Best Modern Award: The Moon Is Square by Margaret Maddocks (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1975: Vote For A Silk Gown by Jay Allerton (Troubadour)
• 1974: The Burning Lamp by Frances Murray (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 1973: The House Of Kuragin by Constance Heaven (Heinemann)
• 1972: The Pride Of Innocence by Maynah Lewis (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1971: Flower Of Silence by Joanne Marshall (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 1970: Cat On A Broomstick by Joanne Marshall (Herbert Jenkins)
• 1970: Thea by Margaret Maddocks (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1970: Broken Tapestry by Rona Randall (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1969: Comfort and Keep by Doris E. Smith (Ward Lock)
• 1968: The Future Is Forever by Maynah Lewis (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1967: The Truth Game by Anne Betteridge (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1965: The Silver Answer by Margaret Maddocks (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1964: Journey from Yesterday by Suzanne Ebel (Collins)
• 1963: House Divided by Dorothy M. Cray (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1962: Larksbrook by Margaret Maddocks (Hurst & Blackett)
• 1961: Witches' Sabbath by Paula Allardyce (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 1960: More Than Friendship by Mary Howard (Collins)

Love Story of the Year a.k.a. RoNA Rose Award a.k.a. Shorter Romantic Novel[]

This award (formerly the Love Story of the Year) recognises the best in category and shorter romance, serials in magazines are also eligible.

Winners[]

• 2021: A Will, a Wish and a Wedding by Kate Hardy (Mills & Boon True Love)
• 2020: Miss Amelia’s Mistletoe Marquess by (Mills & Boon Historical)
• 2019: Secret Baby, Second Chance by (Mills & Boon)
• 2018: Christmas at the Little Village School by Jane Lovering (Choc Lit)
• 2017: Christmas in the Boss’s Castle by (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2016: Doctor... To Duchess? by Annie O'Neil (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2015: Scandal’s Virgin by Louise Allen (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2014: Bound by a Baby by Kate Hardy (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2013: Beneath the Major's Scars by Sarah Mallory (HMB Historical Regency)
• 2012: The Dangerous Lord Darrington by Sarah Mallory (HMB Historical Regency)
• 2011: The Piratical Miss Ravenhurst by Louise Allen (Harlequin Historicals)
• 2010: Animal Instincts by Nell Dixon (Little Black Dress)
• 2009: Mistress: Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure by India Grey (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2008: Breakfast at Giovanni's by Kate Hardy (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2007: Marrying Max by Nell Dixon (DC Thomson)
• 2006: Contracted: Corporate Wife by Jessica Hart (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2005: A Family of His Own by Liz Fielding (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2004: A Damnable Rogue by Anne Herries (Harlequin Mills & Boon)
• 2003: Illusion by Julia Wild (Heartline)

Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year[]

This award recognises the best in category for mainstream romantic novels set in the present world or society.

Winners[]

• 2021: My One True North by Milly Johnson (Simon & Schuster)
• 2020: A Summer to Remember by (Avon, HarperCollins)
• 2019: One Thousand Stars and You by (Michael Joseph)
• 2018: Together by Julie Cohen (Orion)
• 2017: Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson (HarperImpulse)
• 2016: The Wedding Cake Tree by Melanie Hudson (Choc Lit)
• 2015: A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon (Hodder & Stoughton)
• 2014: A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry (Orion)
• 2013: Recipe for Love by Katie Fforde (Century)
• 2012: Summer of Love by Katie Fforde (Century)

Historical Romantic Novel of the Year[]

This award recognises the best in category for a romantic novel set pre 1960.

Winners[]

• 2021: Rags-to-Riches Wife by (Mills & Boon Historical)
• 2020: The French Photographer by (Sphere)
• 2019: The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore (Simon & Schuster)
• 2018: The Designer by Marius Gabriel (Lake Union Publishing)
• 2017: It Was Only Ever You by Kate Kerrigan (Head of Zeus)
• 2016: Letters to the Lost by (Simon & Schuster)
• 2015: The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor (William Morrow)
• 2014: The Gilded Fan by Christina Courtenay (Choc Lit)
• 2013: The Apothecary's Daughter by
• 2012: Highland Storms by Christina Courtenay (Choc Lit)

Romantic Comedy Novel[]

This award recognises the best in category for a romantic novel intended to be consistently humorous or amusing.

Winners[]

• 2021: Sunny Days and Sea Breezes by Carole Matthews (Sphere, Little, Brown)
• 2020: A Question of Us by (Aria Fiction, Head of Zeus)
• 2019: Not Just For Christmas by Natalie Cox (Orion)
• 2018: The Summer Seaside Kitchen by Jenny Colgan (Sphere/Little, Brown)
• 2017: Out of Practice by (Simon & Schuster)
• 2016: Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe by Milly Johnson (Simon & Schuster)
• 2015: Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy by Lucy-Anne Holmes (Sphere)
• 2014: It's Raining Men by Milly Johnson (Simon & Schuster)
• 2013: Welcome to Rosie Hopkin's Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan (Sphere, Little Brown)
• 2012: Please Don't Stop The Music by Jane Lovering (Choc Lit)

Epic Romantic Novel of the Year[]

This award recognises the best in category for romantic novels that have a broad and sweeping scope. May be either contemporary or historical and may include time-slip.

Winners[]

• 2018: This Love by (Simon & Schuster)
• 2017: Little Girl Lost by Janet Gover (Choc Lit)
• 2016: The Secrets We Share by Emma Hannigan (Headline Review)
• 2015: Pieces of You by Ella Harper (Avon)
• 2014: The Fever Tree by (Penguin)
• 2013: Dearest Rose by
• 2012: The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas (HarperCollins)

Young Adult Romantic Novel[]

This award recognises the best in category for a romantic novel in which the main characters are teenagers or young adults.

Winners[]

• 2018: Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkinson (Bookouture)
• 2017: Love Song by Sophia Bennett (Chicken House)
• 2016: Crow Mountain by (Chicken House)
• 2015: Struck by Joss Stirling (Oxford University Press)
• 2014: Linked by (Quercus)
• 2013: Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb
• 2012: Dark Ride by Caroline Green (Piccadilly Press)

Paranormal or Speculative Romantic Novel a.k.a. Fantasy Romantic Novel[]

This award recognises the best in category for a romantic novel that may be paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, time-slip etc.

Winners[]

• 2021: Echoes of the Rune by Christina Courtenay (Headline Review)
• 2020: Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel by (Two Roads)
• 2019: Living in the Past by Jane Lovering (Choc Lit)
• 2018: The Other Us by (HQ)
• 2017: Max Seventeen by Kate Johnson (Independent)

Debut Romantic Novel[]

This award recognises the best romantic novel by a first-time author.

Winners[]

• 2021: The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley (Bantam Press)
• 2020: The Forgotten Village by (Avon, HarperCollins)
• 2019: The Rules of Seeing by Joe Heap (HarperCollins)

Romantic Thriller[]

This award recognises the best in category for a romantic thriller.

Winners[]

• 2021: The House by the Sea by (Boldwood Books)
• 2020: Knowing You by (Canelo)

Romantic Saga[]

This award recognises the best in category for the best romantic novel featuring saga elements of characters overcoming social adversity, usually set in the past.

Winners[]

• 2021: Bobby’s War by (Zaffre, Bonnier Books UK)
• 2020: The Street of Broken Dreams by (Aria Fiction, Head of Zeus)

References[]