posted on March 31, 2015 by Jeanne Devlin

And the nominees are . . .

One in a MillionThe last three months have seen the movie, stage, and record industries celebrate the best of the best in actors and movies, thespians and stage, and balladeers and song, but this past week it was finally the romance book industry’s turn.

On March 26th, Romance Writers of America announced the 2015 RITA and Golden Heart finalists in everything from Best First Book to Best Romance Novella to Romantic Suspense.

There were household names like J.D. Robb in suspense and Gena Showalter in paranormal to be found for sure, but also plenty of talented newcomers.

We tip our hat to all the finalists—and share the 2015 finalists list here with you.

Carolina ManIf you’re like us even a cursory read of the list makes it interesting for what is not there—many bestselling titles, many reader favorites, and many #1 New York Times bestselling authors, underscoring just how competitive this annual book competition always is.

So while the authors who failed to make the list nash their teeth and vow to write an even better book for 2016, how about you, the reader . . .

Who is your favorite author or book on the list—and why?

And just between us:  what author or book are you outraged about not making the cut?

I’ll tell if you will!

One person who comments on today’s blog will win a selection of four Berkley Jove books!

– Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin is editor of The RoadRunner Press, an award-winning traditional publishing house based in the American West. An editor of newspapers, magazines, and books for more than thirty years, she has also worked on national marketing and publicity campaigns with such publishers as Simon and Schuster and St. Martin's and for a number of New York Times bestselling authors, including Robyn Carr, Sabrina Jeffries, Debbie Macomber, Linda Lael Miller, and Wendy Corsi Staub. A graduate of the Stanford University Publishing Course, Jeanne is a member of the Children's Book Council, the National Book Critics Circle, and the Oklahoma Center for the Book of the Library of Congress. She also consults with boutique publishers.

http://www.theroadrunnerpress.com

16 thoughts on “And the nominees are . . .”

  1. Susan I says:

    Oh, my. I knew I hadn’t had much time to read lately, but this list really drives that home. Haven’t read a single nominee.

  2. Kim Cornwell says:

    Jodi Linton and her sassy girl Lanny!

  3. susan emans says:

    Actually, I was disappointed that I recognized very few of the nominees. None of Ann Aguirre’s 2B series made it nor did Sweet Filthy Boy. Darynda Jones’s Charley Davidson is not there, and Ilona Andrews’s Burn For Me is absent. Also, I think Laini Taylor’s Dreams of Gods and Monsters and Shelly Laurenston’s Bite Me deserved notice.

    1. Thanks Susan — I felt the same way … lots of new names!

  4. Asmaa qayyum says:

    love Jill Shalvis but I think Julia Quinn should have been nominated

  5. Peggy Casey says:

    I can’t believe you don’t have one book by Linda Lael Miller on your list! I love her books and feel that you are missing a huge market by not including her. Also, there is a new author who just published her first book in a 3 book series, Mary J. Williams. I feel her books deserve a nod as well. She has real talent and will be a noted author one day.

  6. Shawn H. says:

    Maybe my list of go to authors is limited as I have not heard of quite a few that are nominated. Guess I may have to look into their books also.

  7. Joan V. says:

    I am excited for Jill Shalvis but I was sad that Jayne Ann Krentz was not on the list.

  8. Julie Ford says:

    I love that Jill Shalvis has 2 nominations for her Lucky Harbor series. That was one of the funniest, lovable, heartwarming series written. I am disappointed that Karen Hawkins and Vanessa Kelly were not on the list, they both had fantastic books out this year.

  9. Nancy says:

    OMG where the heck is Kristan Higgins? I had to read the list twice as I was positive she would be on it….Im so sad..

    1. Susan Simpson says:

      Hi Nancy,
      Your comment was chosen as the winning comment for the blog contest. Please forward your mailing address to susan(at)writerspacemail(dot)com and we will mail your selection of Berkley Jove books!

      1. Nancy says:

        Thanks so much. I received your email and just sent you my address by email.This has really made my day..

  10. Ruby Norwood says:

    i was excited about Jill Shalvis and Robyn Carr!!

    1. Ruby — I was excited about Jill, too, but I didn’t see Robyn Carr or her Thunder Point Series. What category are you looking at?

  11. Jennifer Nicholson Agolino says:

    I’m glad to see Jill Shalvis and Kimberly Kincaid on the list.

  12. carol L says:

    Seeing Tessa Dare’s Romancing The Duke was nice to see. I loved that book. Such an enjoyable read. I love books where you have humor with there the roance. Berghelieve me I laughed out loud quite a bit. 🙂 Also seeing Grace Burrows name twice was good. Khaki Warner was another pleasant surprise. Good luck to all the nominees.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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