And the winner is……(we all wait with bated breath)……Meg Chronis for The Seven Day Switch!

Bosnimf and Liefde met ‘a uitklophou were worthy second and third place winners.

A few words from Bailie Hantam, the organiser for the award this year:

This year, with only five English entrants, and three Afrikaans entrants, we decided to combine all the entries. The decision was not taken lightly but it was practical. In the future, unless we see a need to separate by language, this would be the way to go.

Each judge read a book in a genre they were familiar with to ensure the book was judged against the correct market. The exception was the Afrikaans entries where readers were not only familiar with the genre, but also understood the language as a first language. The result was that some of the judges actively looked for Afrikaans books after judging. How wonderful is that?

The only disqualifying factor was whether or not a book concluded with a Happily Ever After (HEA) and stories were weighted more if romance was a central part of the book. I am pleased to announce that no one was disqualified this year.

The number of entries was disappointing and I hope this will change in years to come. However, nothing can take away from the quality of the entries and the prestige of the award. Well done!

I would like to thank the following people – avid romance readers and people willing to judge the entries:

Rachelle Winter; Natasha McClear; Nadia Duvenage; Sanri Du Randt; Wesley Wessels; Bec Marshal; Jane McDougall; Kirsten Rolston

And finally, thank you to everyone who helped.