One of my biggest regrets of 2020, this Year of Sorrows, is that we never got to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association. The first meeting was in January 1960. This anniversary year will soon run out.
It occurred to me, therefore, that I should do something now, before Christmas takes its irresistible hold.
There are excellent up-to-date entries on the RNA’s website for current information. And I heartily recommend it.
This blog, however, is wholly personal. Here you will find a few random memories of the RNA and, above all, the wonderful people I have found there, in books and in person.
Romantic Novelists’ Association and Sophie Weston, Debut Author
For some while now I have been thinking about novelists’ ways of learning to write. Then three conversations recently presented the issue to me in quite individual and thought provoking ways. And I am missing the chance to discuss it with friends and fellow authors. Missing it badly, if I’m honest.
For this is the season that the Romantic Novelists Associationholds its annual conference as I write. And I am missing the panels, the talks, the workshops – not to mention the kitchen chats and the goody bags. So all the stuff that I regularly count on to raise my industry knowledge, various writing skills and sheer enthusiasm is happening. Only. I. Am Not There.
So this blog is a sort of wish fulfilment. Were I at the Conference, I would be hunkering down in a kitchen with like minds and a decent bottle or two and… Well, you get the picture. Continue reading →
Libertà author Liz Fielding is to receive the 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association at their prestigious award ceremony in London on 4th March 2019.
RNA President, Katie Fforde, said, “Liz Fielding’s books, with their warmth, humour and emotion, have charmed millions of readers. She is a true star of the romantic fiction genre.”
Liz has won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® Award twice; and she also won the RNA’s RoNA Rose Award in 2005.
Liz’s books have sold over 15 million copies, in over 30 overseas markets and in 27 different languages. More info about Liz’s Outstanding Achievement Award here.
Libertà sponsors RNA’s Shorter Romantic Novel Award 2019
We are proud to announce that Libertà is sponsoring the RNA’s Shorter Romantic Novel Award 2019. All the authors in the Libertà hive have strong connections with this genre. Libertà partner, Sophie Weston explained:
Fabergé Renaissance egg Sadly NOT the winner’s trophy
At its best, short fiction is the Fabergé egg of our genre — intricate, gorgeous and just a little bit magical.
So Libertà is delighted to sponsor this Award, with love and appreciation of the fabulous practitioners of the form — especially those who have done so much for the RNA and are now missing, including Penny Jordan, Sara Craven, Roger Sanderson, Anne Weale, Elizabeth Harrison, Lucilla Andrews and Rosamund Pilcher (in her Jane Fraser incarnation).
One of my biggest regrets of 2020, this Year of Sorrows, is that we never got to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association. The first meeting was in January 1960. This anniversary year will soon run out.
