What are The Swoon Awards?

The Swoon Awards (or The Swoonies like some of us call it) is a reader-based and reader-hosted award celebrating the romance community’s favorite romance novels of the year.

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 below to ensure that it fits.

Historical Romance

Any romance novel that takes place before 1990. Popular subgenres include Regency and Victorian.

Contemporary Romance

Any romance novel that takes place after 1990 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 (ex: Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day).

Debut Romance Novel

Any romance novel that was published in 2021. The author does not have any published novels before 2021.

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.

2021 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 15th, 2021 at 12 p.m. EST

Closes: January 7th, 2022 at 11.59 p.m. EST

In the nomination round, voters are allowed unlimited submissions in each category.

Semi-Finals

Opens: January 17th, 2022 at 12 p.m. EST
Closes: January 28th, 2022 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 31st, 2022 at 12 p.m. EST

Closes: February 11th, 2022 at 11.59 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 14th, 2022

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.

FAQ

Can authors nominate their books?

Yes, authors are readers too; however, we strongly discourage authors from encouraging their readership to exclusively nominate their work in every category.

Do The Swoon Awards Team vote?

Yes, The Swoonies are readers too and have the option to vote. We follow the same rules and regulations as every other voter.

Is The Swoon Awards affiliated with any organization?

No, The Swoon Awards is an independently organized reader award.

How can I help make The Swoon Awards more successful?

We want as many people to nominate and vote in each round. Please share information about The Swoon Awards so we can reach more people. If you are able, please consider donating to The Swoon Awards Kofi Fund.

Did you make any changes from last year?

Yes, we have! One huge undertaking was that we moved the website to be self-hosted, which could not have been done without your generous donations. We also updated information related to nominations for clarity. And we also are asking audiobook narrations to include the narrator.

Can I use your graphics on the website to make my own graphics without permission?

No. We respectfully ask that you do not use our custom graphics (such as the website header and post images) to create your own versions of graphics without our explicit permission. You are more than welcome to share unedited versions of our shareable button (see sidebar).