A specialist, not a generalist panel
A romance manuscript goes to our romance judge, the same way SFF goes to our spec-fic judge. Tropes, heat level, and emotional beats are treated as craft to be judged well, not filler to be forgiven.
ROMANCE
Romance Book Awards Judged by Someone Who Actually Reads Romance
Most award panels treat romance like a guilty pleasure. BookyAwards routes every romance entry — contemporary, historical, paranormal, romantasy, romantic suspense — to a romance-specialist judge who scores it across ten craft axes and puts the reasoning in writing.
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Will your romance qualify?
Upload it. We'll honestly tell you whether it'd earn a Booky — by email, in minutes.
MEET YOUR JUDGE
Vivienne Park
Romance · Women’s Fiction · Emotional Craft
“If I don’t ache for them, the book hasn’t done its job.”
Her reading lineage spans contemporary romance and women’s-fiction breakouts — Hoover, Reid, Henry, Hibbert, Roberts, Quinn — plus the literary edge of the genre: Strout, Patchett, Tan.
What she looks for:
- Interiority — what is the protagonist actually feeling?
- Dialogue that reveals more than it states.
- A relationship arc earned beat by beat, not announced.
- A scene of quiet devastation done well.
Vivienne is one of our six specialist AI judges — we say so plainly, and every winner’s page shows her reasoning so you can judge the judge. What makes her different from a generalist panel is the tuning: she reads your romance the way romance readers do.
Meet all six judgesWhat your romance can win for
A Booky names the specific strength — emotional resonance, dialogue, characterization, prose, tension. “Winner: Emotional Resonance in Contemporary Romance” tells readers something; a generic gold sticker does not.
Written feedback, win or not
Every entry receives 10-axis rubric scores with written judge reasoning. Even if your book does not earn an award, you walk away with a genre-literate critique of your romance for $39.
How it works
1
Submit your published romance
Have your title, author name, ASIN or ISBN, manuscript file, and cover ready. One entry is $39 — less at volume if you enter multiple books.
2
Full 10-axis judging
Vivienne scores your book from 0–100 on each of ten craft dimensions — including emotional resonance, dialogue, characterization, and prose — and writes out her reasoning.
3
Earn a Booky — or pay nothing
If at least one axis reaches 75, your book earns a Booky in a category that actually fits it, with a permanent award page, certificate, and badge. If our judge can’t stand behind an award, you get a refund — honest or free.
15+
Years serving authors
10,000+
Books published since 2011
$5M+
Paid to authors
50+
Author Tool Websites
What our users say
★★★★★
"Franky, I was amazed at how fast I received the results. Very pleased with the Judge's reasoning & the accuracy of the supporting passages. She nailed it. I'm already thinking about submitting one of my other books. David"
Author of 'Immunity for Murder' The Veronica Taft Story
★★★★★
"I am so excited to see that my work received an award. The process was simple and straight forward. The award captured the essence of the book and brought out details that I wasn't sure people would see. I would highly recommend Independent Authors to apply."
Jubrozan Dragon Rider
Simple pricing, honest or free
No award we’d be embarrassed to publish. Refund if our judges can’t find one to stand behind.
Booky Award
$39 per book · less at volume
- Full 10-axis judging by the romance-specialist judge
- Written judge reasoning you keep, win or not
- Permanent award page with your name and your book
- PDF certificate + embeddable badge for your site and cover
- Honest-or-free: refund if no award is earned
Author Bundle
$129 per book · less at volume
- Everything in the Booky Award
- Custom press release written for your book
- Eight social graphics sized for your channels
- Short AI-narrated audio reel
- Cover-with-badge image ready for retail pages
Questions authors ask
Is winning guaranteed?
No — and that is the point. A Booky requires at least one craft axis to score 75 or higher, our threshold for an award we can publicly stand behind. If your book does not earn one, you get a refund under the honest-or-free promise, and you keep the written feedback.
Who actually judges my romance?
A romance-specialist AI judge — we are open about that on every page. Vivienne Park is tuned for romance and women’s fiction specifically, and every winner’s award page publishes her reasoning, supporting passages, and rubric scores so the judging is verifiable, not a black box.
Which romance subgenres qualify?
All of them: contemporary, historical, paranormal, romantasy, romantic suspense, small-town, sweet and inspirational, dark romance, and everything between. The book must be published and available with an ASIN or ISBN — this is an award for finished books, not a manuscript contest.
What does the feedback look like?
Ten craft dimensions scored 0–100, plus written judge reasoning. Winners get a permanent public award page showing the category, the reasoning, and supporting passages — browse the winners gallery to see real examples.
Can I check my chances before paying?
Yes — the free screen tells you whether your book appears likely to qualify before you buy an entry. No card required.
Real winners, public reasoning
146 Bookys awarded so far — every one with a public page showing the judge's reasoning.
Your romance deserves a judge who reads romance.
Enter for $39 — full ten-axis judging, written feedback either way, and if you win, an award page readers can actually verify.
