​
2023 Golden Leaf Contest for Published Authors
​Winners

At our Virtual Awards Ceremony on December 9, New Jersey Romance Writers was thrilled to announce the winners of our 2023 Golden Leaf Awards for published books. Please join us in congratulating our winners and finalists!

***Permission to forward granted and encouraged ****

​* Denotes NJRW members
Contemporary Long
WINNER: Breathless by Roz Lee*
2nd place: Can’t Let You Go by Elena Markem
3rd place: Hungry For Love by Liz Zerkel
Contemporary Mid Length:
WINNER: Kiss Me Under the Irish Sky by Karen Foley
2nd place: Serendipity By the Sea by Jennifer Vido
3rd place: ​Love Me Beneath the Irish Moon by Karen Foley
Contemporary Short:
WINNER: North Shore Nuptials by Piper Malone
2nd place (tie): Journey Home by Gracie Guy*; 
Perfect Morning by Grace Augustine
Historical:
WINNER: How Not to Marry A Duke by Tina Gabrielle*
2nd place: Highland Beast by Heather McCollum
3rd place: ​Glory and the Master of Shadows by Grace Calloway​
Novella:
WINNER: The Governess Gamble by Tracy Sumner
2nd place: Star of Wonder by K. Lyn Smith
3rd place: ​Return to Wylder by Maria Imbalzano*​
Paranormal:
WINNER: A Kiss of Embers by Sydney Winward
2nd place: A Flock of Vampires by Everlyn Thompson
3rd place: ​When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke*​
Romantic Suspense:
WINNER: A Lethal Betrayal by Lori Matthews*
2nd place: Catch and Release by Lori Matthews*
3rd place: ​Where Dreams Come True by Judy Kentrus*​
Best First Book:
WINNER: Serendipity By the Sea by Jennifer Vido
2nd place: The Firstborn Son by Kaia Misk
3rd place: ​A Flock of Vampires by Everlyn Thompson​
Best Book by a New Jersey Author:
WINNER: How Not to Marry a Duke by Tina Gabrielle* 
2nd place: A Lethal Betrayal by Lori Matthews*
3rd place: ​Breathless by Roz Lee*​
The Erotic Romance category did not run due to a lack of entries.​

Categories

  • Contemporary Romance: Short: Novels set from 1970 to present that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and are between 40,000 and 60,000 words in length.
  • ​Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length: Novels set from 1970 to present that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and that are between 60,000 and 80,000 words in length.   
  • Contemporary Romance: Long: Novels set from 1970 to present that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and are 80,000 or more words.
  • Historical Romance: Novels set before 1970. 40,000 word minimum.    
  • Novella: short pieces of romantic fiction between 20-40,000 words. (Trade magazines do not normally fall under the proper word count; however, if your novella does, the acceptability of such work will be the decision of the contest chairperson.) 
  • Paranormal Romance: any romance novel in which either time travel, futuristic, fantasy world or paranormal happenings are a major element of the plot. 40,000 word minimum. 
  • Romantic Suspense: Novels in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute a major part of the plot. 40,000 word minimum.
  • Erotic Romance: Novels in which strong, often explicit, sexual interaction is an inherent part of the love story, character growth and relationship development and could not be removed without damaging the storyline. These novels may contain elements of other romance subgenres (such as paranormal, historical, novella, etc.).    
  • Best First Book: any romance novel from a first-time author not previously published in book ­length romantic fiction, regardless of publishing medium. The book must be entered in another category. Scores from that category will be used to determine the winner and finalists in the Best First Bookcategory. If the entrant is entering multiple books in the contest, only one may also be entered in the Best First Book category. There is no additional fee to have a book considered for Best First Book . No additional books need to be sent.
  • Best Book by a New Jersey Romance Author: Open to any entrant (regardless of whether they’re an NJRW member) who is a current, full-time resident of New Jersey. The book must be entered in another category. Scores from that category will be used to determine the winner and finalists in the Best Book by a NJ Romance Author category. If the entrant is entering multiple books in the contest, only one may also be entered in the Best Book by a NJ Romance Author category. There is no additional fee to have a book considered for Best Book by a NJ Romance Author. No additional books need to be sent.