We are delighted to share that both Mills & Boon and Senior Editor for the imprint, Becky Slorach, have been shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) Inclusion Award 2022!
The RNA Industry Awards celebrates the hard work and talent of any person, group or organisation who have championed romantic fiction in a positive way, with the Inclusion Award recognising those who have championed inclusivity in romantic authorship and publishing.
Inclusion is at the core of the Mills & Boon publishing strategy, and to be recognised within this category reflects our mission to deliver a romance for every reader.
Over the past year, we have championed diversity and inclusivity in the following ways:
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✨ We launched Romance Includes Everyone in partnership with the RNA, a writing competition to discover new romance books celebrating LGBTQIA+ protagonists. The quality of submissions was extremely high and we are thrilled to be publishing Emma Denny’s winning story, One Night In Hartswood in hardback, audiobook and eBook in January 2023.
✨ We launched Love to Write with Amber Rose Gill to discover writers from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. As part of the campaign, we spoke with readers about what representation in fiction means to them. The winner, Faye Acheampong submitted a Christmas romance set in a toy shop that will be published in our True Love series in October 2023.
✨ We also published Amber’s debut novel, Until I Met You. Amber said: ‘For me this project is so much more than just a love story. It’s about bringing more representation and inclusivity to the romance genre.’
✨ We championed inclusive voices and stories to create a community built on trust and respect: author Mellissa Lenhardt trusted the Mills & Boon blog with her ‘Coming Out’ letter.
✨ We partnered with WhizzKids to ensure accurate representation of a wheelchair user in Georgia Toffolo’s 100k selling Meet me… series, which includes a diverse cast of strong female protagonists
✨ We hosted an accessible launch event for the paperback of Her Heart for a Compass, which included live transcription and digital streaming
We’re so proud of these achievements, and the recognition we have received from the RNA. We look forward to continuing to create opportunities for aspiring authors facing traditional barriers into publishing. We also look forward to publishing more inclusive and diverse romance stories. After all, everyone should feel represented in the books they read.
We would love it if you could join us in celebrating and congratulating Becky! https://twitter.com/MillsandBoon/status/1579771802532052993
The winners of the Industry Awards will be announced at the RNA’s Annual Winter Party on 11th November, so keep everything crossed for a win!
