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Romantic Book of the Year 2023

In Conference, Contests, RWA News by RWA Blog CoordinatorLeave a Comment

One again it’s time for the RWA awards and on Saturday 12th of August we can celebrate our nominees at our Gala Dinner at the Wentworth Sofitel. Kudos to our contest team, reader judges, organising committee and contest co-ordinator Sarma Burdeu! You can read along with the #RubyReadalong for 2023 on social media, where you mention one of the books in any category on social media, and tag it with #RubyReadalong. Please put your hands together for the Romance Writers of Australia Romantic Book of the Year finalists for 2023! Congratulations everyone, what an amazing effort! And the finalists are… …

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Shout Out to the Ruby Nominees!

In Conference, Contests, Indie Publishing, RWA News by RWA Blog Coordinator2 Comments

It feels like forever – but on Saturday the 13th of August we can finally celebrate our nominees at our Gala Dinner – in person! Are you as excited as this little Blog Coordinator is?!? Kudos to our contest team, reader judges, organising committee and contest co-ordinator Sarma Burdeu! You can read all the nominees here. Thanks to Ebony Mckenna for setting this up for us once again. Please put your hands together for the Romance Writers of Australia Romantic Book of the Year finalists for 2022! Congratulations everyone, what an amazing effort! And the finalists are… Romantic Suspense Caitlyn …

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Competition Survey with Annette M Laarakkers

In Contests by RWA Blog CoordinatorLeave a Comment

The RWA (Romance Writers of Australia) run 9 competitions a year, from September to April. They cover a vast range of writing levels from the brand-new aspirer to the long-established author. Short pieces, long pieces, entire books, and publishing submissions are on offer to those that qualify. Mentorships, publishing contracts and two chances to appear in published Anthologies are just a few of the sought-after prizes. So, I thought I’d find out about the coordinator and the humble competition. Coordinator fun facts 16% of those surveyed were coordinators, both past and present. The Emerald competition had the most respondents at …

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Ruby Finalists Announced!

In Conference, Contests, Indie Publishing, RWA News by RWA Blog Coordinator5 Comments

It’s that time of year folks! The finalists for Romantic Book of the Year were announced today! Congratulations to all the finalists, what an amazing effort! Kudos to our contest team, reader judges, organising committee and contest co-ordinator Sarma Burdeu! And the finalists are… Romantic Suspense Shannon Curtis – Easy Target Anna Hackett – The Investigator Anna Hackett – The Troubleshooter Contemporary Mel A Rowe – Xmas Dust Madeline Ash – Her Cowboy Prince Susanne Bellamy – Home from the Hill Belinda Williams – Read Between The Lines Historical Amy Rose Bennett – How to Catch a Sinful Marquess Anne-Marie …

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Australasian literary prize celebrating historical fiction genre now with CYA category

In Contests, Creative Writing, Guest Articles, RWA News by RWA Blog CoordinatorLeave a Comment

The ARA Historical Novel Prize is now the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia. The Historical Novel Society of Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, has today announced the exciting expansion of the ARA Historical Novel Prize. The Prize will now incorporate a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature.    In just its second year of operation, the ARA Historical Novel Prize is now worth a total of $100,000 in prize monies. The Prize will award $50,000 to the Adult category winner, with an additional $5,000 to be …

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Anthology contributors in the spotlight

In Contests, Guest Articles by RWA Blog Coordinator1 Comment

By Libby M Iriks This has been a year of adaptation, but with that comes new opportunities, to which our anthology contributors can attest. Tradition has seen RWA’s anthologies launched amid the fun and chaos of its annual conference weekend. This year, however, each Sweet Treats and Spicy Bites contributor was given their moment in the virtual spotlight. When the RWA committee and conference team announced earlier this year that the conference would go ahead in a virtual setting, I was left wondering – as a Sweet Treats contributor – how our anthologies would be launched. I made an offer …

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Ruby Finalists Announced!

In Conference, Contests, Indie Publishing, RWA News by RWA Blog Coordinator8 Comments

It’s that time of year folks! The finalists for Romantic Book of the Year were announced this week! Congratulations to all the finalists, what an amazing effort! Kudos to our contest team, reader judges, organising committee and contest co-ordinator Sarma Burdeu! And the finalists are… Romantic Suspense Leah Ashton – Out Run the Night (previously ‘Defiant’) Claire Boston – Nothing to Lose Claire Boston – Shelter Emma Lea – Hide and Seek Contemporary Amy Andrews – Nothing But Trouble Ann Penny – Capturing Love Janet Elizabeth Henderson – Can’t Stop the Feeling Sarah Williams – The legacies of Brigadier Station …

First Kiss Competition Announcement

In Contests by RWA Blog Coordinator1 Comment

When we think of a protagonist and their first kiss with their love interest, what we expect is romantic tension, that push-push, pull-pull, pull-push feeling. You know the one, the barely there kiss, the surprise kiss, the mistaken kiss, the heartfelt kiss, the angry kiss, all depending on the set up the author has given us. What the first kiss does is make us want more- prepare us for what is to come and make us cheer for the characters, the story and for many more kisses! The First Kiss Competition is an opportunity for authors to showcase that romantic …

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New $30,000 Australasian literary prize celebrating historical fiction genre

In Contests, Creative Writing, Guest Articles, RWA News by RWA Blog CoordinatorLeave a Comment

Australia’s leading infrastructure and facilities service provider ARA Group has partnered with The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) to announce a new major literary prize, set to award $30,000 to an outstanding historical novelist. The new ARA Historical Novel Prize gives Australian and New Zealand historical novelists the chance to be recognised in a class of their own, with the most significant prize money for any genre-based prize in Australasia. Entries will be judged on excellence in writing, depth of research, and reader appeal. ARA Group Founder, Executive Chair and Managing Director Ed Federman said as a patron of historical …