Downing and Atkins win at RNA Awards as Fforde steps down as president

Sarah Downing and Dani Atkins are among the winners of this year’s Romantic Novel Awards, while president Katie Fforde – who stepped down as president – has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Downing took the award for Fantasy Romantic Novel with I Let You Fall (Quilla Books) while Atkins won the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers with Six Days (Head of Zeus). Meanwhile, Julie Haworth’s Always by Your Side won the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award (Simon & Schuster UK), Emily Bell won the Christmas/Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award with This Year’s for Me and You (Michael Joseph) and Louise Allen’s book The Earl’s Mysterious Lady (Mills & Boon Historical) won the Shorter Romantic Novel Award.

Other award winners are Vicki Beeby, who won the Romantic Saga Award with A New Start for the Wrens (Canelo), Emily Kerr, who won the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy with Take a Chance on Greece, Natasha Lester, who won the Historical Romantic Novel Award with The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre (Sphere), Jane Lovering, who won the Contemporary Romantic Novel Award with A Cottage Full of Secrets (Boldwood Books) and Heidi Swain, who won the Popular Romantic Fiction Award with A Christmas Celebration (Simon & Schuster UK).

Author Katie Fforde – who has been president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association since 2011 – was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award and will step down from her role this month (March 2023).

Fforde said: “I couldn’t be more delighted to receive this award from my beloved RNA. I’ve been a member for nearly 40 years and will always be grateful for the support it has given me throughout my career, from an unpublished writer to where I am today. I am sad to retire as president, a role I have thoroughly enjoyed, but I feel it’s time for both me and the RNA to look to the future. I’m proud and grateful to have been able to give back to an organisation that has given me so much.”

Jean Fullerton, the RNA Chair, commented: “Once again the judges have had the almost impossible task of choosing winners for each of our romantic awards categories. Huge congratulations to our worthy winners.”

Sharon Ibbotson, the RNA Awards Co-ordinator, added: “Our Romantic Novel Awards in 2023 had nearly 500 entries, which were whittled down to nine very worthy winners by our amazing reader-judges. Along with the winner of the Popular Romantic Fiction Award, their stories made people laugh, smile, weep and, above all, fall in love. I am delighted to congratulate them for their success in our awards.”