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Debut author Helen Simonson has won the fifth Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance for her novel Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. The winning writer, who is published by Bloomsbury, was awarded with the accolade at the prize ceremony at Cafe de Paris in London last night (Tuesday). She beat a shortlist comprising Jane Fallon, Chrissie Manby, David Nobbs, Katie Fforde and Lucy Diamond. The award was founded in memory of the author Melissa Nathan, who drew up the prize’s criteria but died of cancer in 2006.

Simonson said: “Great Britain is blessed with a proud tradition of fine writing in the areas of comedy and romantic fiction…Melissa Nathan knew just how comedy creates connection, and I believe she understood that love requires, if not demands, a sense of humor. May her legacy of warmth and optimism continue to inspire writers everywhere.”

Andrew Cleaves, m.d. of National Express Coaches, who sponsored the awards, said: “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is just the sort of book to take on a long journey, it’s funny and warm and yet it deals with the big issues of life and love. As with all great novels, I found myself transported and inspired.”

(Taken from the Bookseller.com)

Our congrats go to Helen for winning the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance this year, and I might just have to go out and get myself the book! Commiserations to all the other authors, too, who were also nominated.

Every year, the chick lit world celebrates the best in the business with the annual Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance. Melissa tragically died at the age of 37 from breast cancer, and the awards are held in her honour. Previous winners include Marian Keyes and Lisa Jewell. This year, the 6 books up for the award are:

• Jane Fallon - Foursome
• Lucy Diamond - Sweet Temptation
• Chrissie Manby - Getting Over Mr Right
• Katie Fforde - The Perfect Proposal
• David Nobbs - Obstacles to Young Love
• Helen Simonson - Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

Congratulations to all the nominees, and good luck! The ceremony to announce the winner on 21st June 2011 in London.

The 2011 finalists for both the RITA and Golden Heart Awards were recently announced and I have to say there are quite a few on the lists I’m quite excited about! Especially one in particular:

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells - Nominated for both the Best First Book and Young Adult Romance awards. I reviewed Amanda’s novel not too long ago and absolutely adored! I am absolutely crossing my fingers for her on both accounts because not only is the book incredible, but she is as well.

What is the RWA all about? The Romance Writers of America® (RWA) was chartered in 1981 to serve as a nonprofit trade association for romance writers. Each year the RWA also sponsors the romance publishing industry’s prestigious awards for published and unpublished romance writers — the RITA Awards and the Golden Heart Awards. These awards recognize excellence in romance fiction.

Both Awards have various categories with numerous books being selected as finalists. Take a look at the categories:

For the RITA Awards:
Best First Book
Contemporary Series Romance
Contemporary Series Romance:Suspense/Adventure
Contemporary Single Title
Historical Romance
Inspirational Romance
Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
Paranormal Romance
Regency Historical Romance
Romance Novella
Romantic Suspense
Young Adult Romance

Golden Heart Award Finalist Categories:
Contemporary Series Romance
Contemporary Series Romance:Suspense/Adventure
Contemporary Single Title
Historical Romance
Inspirational Romance
Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
Paranormal Romance
Regency Historical Romance
Romantic Suspense
Young Adult Romance

Winners will be announced on July 1, 2025 at a ceremony taking place during the RWA’s Annual Conference in New York, New York. Do you have any favorites?

As 2010 comes to a close, the Chick Lit Reviews Awards are back, and this year we have a new logo as well as a few extra categories so here are our winners!

Book of the Year: From Notting Hill With Love… Actually by Ali McNamara

Why: From the first page, I was hooked with FNHWLA and I just couldn’t put it down. It was by far and away my favourite book of 2010, everything about it was perfect and no other book blew me away that well.

Most Disappointing Book of the Year: Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

Why: With Heart of the Matter being Emily’s first novel in about two years I had a lot of expectations for the novel. I loved Emily’s first two novels, but wasn’t as big a fan of her other novels and was hoping this would be Emily back to her best. Unfortunately for me, it just wasn’t to be as it was frighteningly similar to Something Borrowed, but it just wasn’t anywhere as good.

Best Sequel: After The Party by Lisa Jewell

Why: I thought After The Party was an immense sequel, even better than Ralph’s Party it’s prequel. It was real and it was completely true to life. It didn’t gloss over Ralph and Jem’s marriage and their troubles, and I just adored catching up with Jem and Ralph again, 10 years later, to see how they had changed and grown in the intervening years. Even a few of the original characters popped up, rounding out the book nicely.

Funniest Book of the Year: Katy Carter Wants A Hero by Ruth Saberton

Why: Of all the books that made me laugh this year, the one I remember most of all was Ruth Saberton’s debut novel Katy Carter Wants A Hero. It was insanely funny, and the scene I remember most vividly was that dinner party scene with Pinchy the lobster. He completely stole the show during those scenes and I’ve never felt so much for a crab!

Tear-Jerker of the Year: Walking Back To Happiness by Lucy Dillon

Why: This book was only released a few weeks ago, yet easily takes the title of Tear-Jerker for me. It’s a story about Juliet, a widow who is trying to rebuild her life after her devastating loss, and it really does have its emotional moments. Despite Juliet’s sad circumstances, it is an uplifting and warm tale that had me welling up frequently, and I enjoyed every single page of it… it’s a tear-jerker but an uplifting one!

Best Debut Novel: Katy Carter Wants A Hero by Ruth Saberton

Why: I’ve read quite a few debut novels this year, and of the two I’d choose to make my final two for this award, Katy Carter won it for me because I was truly impressed with the book. It was the simpleness of the book that impressed me most, as it didn’t try too hard and it just made me happy whilst reading it.

Most Promising Author for the Future: Ali McNamara

Why: Ali’s debut novel From Notting Hill With Love… Actually has taken both Leah and I by storm, and rightfully so. It’s got a gorgeous story, it’s well written and it is will appeal to anyone who loves a proper love-story with a few movies thrown in along the way. If this is Ali’s debut novel, then we can certainly look forward to great things from her, and we can’t wait to see what she is going to offer us next, she’s certainly our one to watch!

Best Celebrity Novel: Envy by Coleen Nolan

Why: Usually I avoid celebrity novels like the plague, mainly because they don’t tend to write them themselves, instead getting a ghost writer to do the job. However, Coleen Nolan actually wrote this book herself and it’s really good! The story focused on a women’s chat show, not unlike Coleen’s show Loose Women (which cringingly appears in the book), but other than that, the characters were well written, it was well paced and a very enjoyable read that Leah and I both really liked. There is a sequel coming in 2011 called Denial, so we look forward to Coleen’s second offering!

Best Little Black Dress Novel: Take A Look At Me Now by Nell Dixon

Why: I only read Take A Look At Me Now a few weeks back, but I was completely sucked in to Tia’s story. It was a very easy read and one I managed to finish fairly quickly, as I was desperate to know if Tia’s secret would come out and what would happen as and when it did!

Women’s Fiction Book of the Year: The Affair by Santa Montefiore

Why: Santa Montefiore is an author who I haven’t heard of before, but is certainly on my radar after reading her 2010 release The Affair which is our Women’s Fiction Book of the Year award winner. Angelica is married, but not happily so and the book tells the tale of her illicit relationship with wine-maker Jack, but in a way which makes you feel very much for both parties. The book moves from Angelica’s oppulent life in London to the wine-making regions of South Africa, and is utterly charming. The writing pulls you in, the characters make you empathise and it is a fantastic read, and a deserving winner.

Book Cover of the Year: Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon

Why: Paige Toon has some of the most beautiful covers in the book world. They always stand out, and they all match each other nicely. Pictures of Lily takes Paige’s covers to another level as it even has sparkly bits. I mean, just look at the picture on the right. It’s even better in real life, and it is without a doubt the best of Paige’s covers so far and I can’t wait to see the cover for her next book Baby Be Mine!

Best Storyline: Swimming With Dolphins by Deborah Wright.

Why: As soon as I read the synopsis for Swimming With Dolphins I wanted to read the book. A woman writes a list of 10 things to do before she dies and ends up actually getting to do it after losing her job. I thought it was a fantastic storyline and I swallowed the book whole in a matter of hours. The exotic locations, the wonderful characters, the never knowing where it was going to end, all added up to a wonderful storyline.

Best Book Ending: From Notting Hill With Love… Actually by Ali McNamara

Why: You have absolutely no idea how happy this novel’s ending made me. It was ah-mah-zing. I will never, ever find a book ending so perfect. It summed up the book perfectly and if you’re the type of person to skip to the end of a book say just for a sneak peak I would heartily recommend with FNHWLA that you don’t do that, because you will completely ruin it for yourself!

Best Female Character: Scarlett from From Notting Hill With Love… Actually

Why: This was an easy decision for us, both Leah and I plumped for this character and rightfully so in our opinion! Scarlett is our leading lady and film fanatic from the brilliant From Notting Hill With Love… Actually, and she is so loveable, she’s just right for the book. Scarlett is somewhat obsessed with films, and wants her life to be happy like her fave movies, Notting Hill, Love Actually etc. McNamara has written a normal character in the form of Scarlett, one every female reader will love and be able to relate to, and she’s definitely our favourite female character of 2010!

Best Male Character: Ben from Pictures of Lily

Why: It was a bit tougher for us to pick the winner of the best male character in a book, but in the end we have plumped for Ben from Pictures of Lily. He’s the central male interest in the book, and Paige Toon has written him to be the hero every girl wants! He first meets young Lily at the zoo when she is 16, but it’s not until she is grown up that something can happen between the pair, and Ben is just perfect throughout!

Best Pet/Animal Character: Pinchy from Katy Carter Wants A Hero

Why: As soon as Pinchy the lobster appeared at the beginning of Katy Carter Wants A Hero, I fell in love with him. He’s the catalyst for one of my favourite scenes in the book that had me laughing out loud like a complete nutter.

Best Festive-Themed Book: All I Want for Christmas by Amy Silver

Why: There were a few contenders for this book but overall I chose Amy Silver’s novel simply because I adored it, and could not put it down. The heart-warming tale about Bea and her little cafe The Honey Pot, and getting her life back after losing her husband was really touching and emotional, and the other stories which were inter-linked made the book even better. The gorgeous cover makes the book all the more covetable, and it thoroughly deserves to be our Best Festive Themed book.

Readers Choice Award: Katy Carter Wants A Hero by Ruth Saberton

Why: We had a total of 227 votes between Katy Carter Wants A Hero, Men I’ve Loved Before and Mini Shopaholic. Katy Carter Wants A Hero got 116 votes, Men I’ve Loved Before received 63 votes and Mini Shopaholic got 37 votes!

Huge congratulations to all of our award winners, you deserve them!

So, we have tallied up all your fantastic entries for your Book of the Year in our Readers Choice Award and the three books with the most votes will now go head-to-head to be crowned Readers Choice Book of the Year award in the 2010 Chick Lit Reviews Awards! All you need to do is choose from the three contenders: Mini Shopaholic, Men I’ve Loved Before OR Katy Carter Wants A Hero. The winner will be announced along with the Chick Lit Reviews Awards on Monday 13th September. So, readers, which book will you choose? It’s down you. (One entry per household)

The Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards shortlist has been announced, and quite a few chick lit titles are up for various awards! In the Easons Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year award category, Sheila O’Flanagan, Sinead Moriarty, Amy Huberman and Cathy Kelly are all vying for the award, and any of them could be in with a chance of winning! Amy Huberman’s book Hello’ Heartbreak is also up for the Best Irish Newcomer of the Year Award, so good luck to her in both categories. Cecelia Ahern is up for The John Murray Show Listeners Choice Award with her latest book The Book of Tomorrow.

The Easons award is the one we’ll be looking out for though, here are the 6 shortlisted titles:

Pieces of My Heart by Sinead Moriarty
Coming Home by Cathy Kelly
Stand By Me by Sheila O’Flanagan
Hello, Heartbreak by Amy Huberman
At Home With The Templetons by Monica McInerney
The Oh My God Delusion by Ross O’Carroll Kelly

You can see all the other categories at the awards website here.

The shortlist for the Galaxy Book Awards 2010 have been announced, and it is great to see chick-lit author Dorothy Koomson is up for Sainsbury’s Popular Fiction Book of the Year! Dorothy’s 2010 novel The Ice-Cream Girls, which Leah and I both really loved, is up for the award which is being chosen on November 10th 2010, and will be shown on Channel 4. The overall Galaxy Book of the Year will be revealed on December 13th 2010 after a public vote.

The other books up for the award are:

Peter James - Dead Like You
David Nicholls - One Day
Dorothy Koomson - The Ice-Cream Girls
Phillippa Gregory - The Red Queen
Lee Child - Worth Dying For
Jilly Cooper - Jump!

To see more categories at the book awards, click here to go to Love Reading’s website. Our good luck wishes have to go to Dorothy… good luck!

This year Chloe, Danielle and myself have decided to add a new category for our Book Awards, which are coming in December, where our readers (that’s you!) can vote for what they think is their favourite book of the year. First, though, we need some contenders. So please put in your top three choices for favourite book of 2010 (and that has been released in 2010) into the Google form below and at the end of November we’ll tally up the votes and the three with the most votes will be made into a poll in December before the ultimate winner is announced during the Chick Lit Reviews Awards 2010! You can find the list of 2010 releases on our Release Dates page here.

Please note that you CANNOT enter the same book three times and that book choices MUST have been released in 2010 otherwise your entries will be deleted.