ROMATIC FICTION This genre is your typical love story. Instead of a sensationalized romance novel, think Nicholas Sparks. It's a story that often focuses on rich characters, with real problems, that find love in one another. It can, of course, have other genre themes. Our 2007 winner, Nelson Pahl's Bee Balms & Burgundy, is both a love story (Romantic Fiction) and a Women's Fiction piece. While it's about two people in love, it's linear theme is the heroine's recurring breast cancer crisis. Our 2007 finalist, Tear Down the Mountain by Roger Alan Skipper, and our 2008 finalist, Forever My Lady by Jeff Rivera, are prime examples of the Romantic Fiction genre.

WOMEN'S FICTION This can be perceived as a vast category, encompassing all female genres, from Romantic Fiction to Chick Lit and Erotic Fiction. We, however, defined it correctly: It's a genre that deals with women and serious women's issues. It isn't necessarily written by women, or only about women. But it's main theme is a woman's journey to enlightenment or self-evolution. Is it caring for a mother with Alzheimer's disease? Is it a woman's quest for equality? Is it her battle against illness? Is it her crisis with her son? Her saga as a rape survivor? Is it her experiences with menopause? Is it her dealings with divorce? Is it her coming of age in a different era? It's all Women's Fiction, and it's an exciting, deep, skilled genre that only gets better by the day. Unlike Chick Lit, there’s a serious, stern tone to the Women’s Fiction genre. Here, women face hardcore issues and attempt to conquer them, with hipness taking a backseat to individual growth. Carrie Bradshaw & Co. don’t hang out here; this is where Teddy Reed and her Sisters reside. In book terms, think our 2008 winner, Lisa Genova's Still Alice, and our 2009 winner, Cora's Turn by George Cope.