What are The Swoon Awards?
Voting Categories
The award will consist of 15 romance categories across different subgenres and age categories as listed below. Before nominating any book, please make sure to read the category definitions in the table below to ensure that it fits.
Historical Romance
Any romance novel that takes place before 1950. Popular subgenres include Regency and Victorian.
Contemporary Romance
Any romance novel that takes place after 1950 and takes place in the modern world. Sports romances are considered contemporary romances.
Fantasy Romance
Any romance novel that takes place in a different world (both contemporary and historical) with romance as a central theme. Magic is typically present.
Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance
Any romance novel that takes place in the modern world with a fantastical element. This typical includes magical creatures such as shifters, vampires, and more.
Romantic Suspense
Any romance novel that takes place in the modern world and has a mystery as a central plot. This typically includes detectives or police work.
Sci-Fi Romance
Any romance novel that takes place in a futuristic world. Common settings include space.
Erotic Romance
Any romance novel that has a heavy emphasis on sex and must have explicit sex on the page. Typical erotic romance titles include BDSM or other kinks. Sex is integral to the plot.
Young Adult Romance
Any romance novel that centers around protagonists aged between 14 and 18.
Romance Novella/Short Story
Any romance novel that is 150 pages or shorter.
Romance Anthology
A bundle of romance short stories. Typical anthologies have 4 or more short stories. All stories must be romance centric.
Holiday Romance
Any romance novel that takes place during a specific holiday. Typical holiday romances are Christmas centric.
Debut Romance Novel
Any romance novel that was published in 2020. The author does not have any published novels before 2020.Romance Audiobook Narration
Audiobook narrator performance(s) in a romance novel. This can be a single narrator or cast. Votes are not based on the story, rather they are cast based on overall narrator performance(s).Best Romance Cover
Cover design that is stand-out from the rest.Book of the Year
Any romance novel that is an instant stand-out from the rest. We will choose this based on the book that receives the most absolute count of votes across all subgenre categories.2020 Voting Timeline
The awards will consist of 3 rounds: a nomination round, the semi-finals, and the finals. Please note the timelines for each round below. We will be updating the website on each of these days with a link to the submission and voting forms.
Nomination Round
Opens: November 16th, 2020 at 12 p.m. EST
Closes: December 31st, 2020 at 11.59 p.m. EST
In the nomination round, voters are allowed unlimited submissions in each category.
Semi-Finals
Opens: January 4th, 2021 at 12 p.m. EST
Closes: January 15th, 2021 at 11.59 p.m. EST
Closes: January 15th, 2021 at 11.59 p.m. EST
The top books from the nomination round will proceed to the semi-finals round. Each voter will be allowed to vote for five books in each category.
Finals
Opens: January 18th, 2021 at 12 p.m. EST
Closes: January 29th, 2021 at 12 p.m. EST
The top voted books from the semi-finals round will proceed to the finals round. Each voter will be allowed to vote for three books in each category.
Winners Announcement 🎉
February 1st, 2021
The top voted books from the finals round in each category will be announced.
Disclaimer
The Swoon Awards are not sponsored or affiliated with any partners.
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