• A digital graphic promoting RUBY, an award by Romance Writers of Australia. The design features a faceted, gemstone-like pink heart in the centre, symbolising romance and prestige. The Romance Writers of Australia logo is positioned in the top left corner, with elegant typography and a stylised pen flourish. Below the illustration, the title "RUBY" is displayed in bold serif font, with a note underneath stating "Members & Non-Members with published works."
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Romance Writers Australia

Ruby Award

Ruby Award

$80.00 AUD
$80.00 AUD
Sale Sold out

Eligibility Australian/New Zealand Authors with work published in Australia/New Zealand.

Member pricing code: Ruby2026

The 2025 Romantic Book of the Year (RUBY) Award is our major contest for novels and novellas first made available in 2025 by Australian and New Zealand authors. 

It includes categories for Contemporary Long, Contemporary Short, Historical Romance, Novella, Romantic Elements/Women's Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Romantic Suspense/Mystery and Young Adult.

Pricing:

Non-members: $80 per entry

Members: $60 per entry. Please use code Ruby2026 at checkout to receive the member pricing.

Entries

Entries open: 1st December 2025, 9am AEDT

Entries close:  16th January 2026, 5pm AEDT

Terms and conditions allow for up to 6 Ruby Award entries per participant, and the entry fee is payable per entry.

Terms and Conditions:

Click here for the full Terms and Conditions

If you do not receive an automated email containing your entry details, please contact our Contest Manager: contests@romanceaustralia.com


Entry

The Ruby Award 2025 accepts entries that were first published (in digital and/or print) between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025. Entries are to be submitted a PDF version of their story via the online form once payment has been received. Please be mindful that judges may convert the PDF into other readable forms such as EPUB or Mobi and indicate if your publishing contract does not allow this. Winners will be announced at the RWAus Gala Dinner at the annual conference in August 2026.

Opens:

Closes:

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