Eva Frances's Blog

The Next Round was announced as the runner-up in the Romance category in the 2026 Los Angeles Book Festival, earning its 15th literary accolade.

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April 25, 2026: Today, The Next Round by Eva Frances received the runner-up / finalist place at the Los Angeles Book Festival Awards. This is the 15th literary accolade received by Eva Frances for her debut novel in as many months since publication.

The Los Angeles Book Festival consider major publisher, independent publisher and self-published works in categories from general non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, YA , poetry, and of course, romance. Submitted works are judged by a panel of publishing industry experts for their general excellence and the author's passion for telling a good story, as well as the potential of the work to gain a wider audience in the worldwide market.

Winners can be found at https://losangelesbookfestival.com/

February 2 2026: The winners and finalists for the 2026 Feathered Quill Book Awards were announced today, and The Next Round was named as a Finalist in the Romance category.

Congratulations to all the winners in the Romance category:

First Place: Royal Good Time by Victoria E. Benoit
Second Place: Sunshine Clinic: A Novel with Recipes by Meera Klein
Third Place: Twirl by Jase Peeples
Finalist - The Next Round by Eva Frances
Finalist - The Best Worst Mistake by Lily Parker

Full list of winners for all the categories available on the Feathered Quill website

Eva Frances Ends 2025 with the Emma Award for Debut Author of the Year


December 31 2025: In the last hours of 2025, the winners for the Emma Awards were announced by the RSJ Convention and Diverse Writers and Readers International (DWRI).

This year, Eva Frances was named the 2025 Emma Awards Debut Author of the Year based on the release of The Next Round (Insta announcement)

The nominees included:

“The Next Round” by Eva Frances @evafranceswrites

“The False Flat” by Melissa Collings @melissarcollings

“The Deed with the Duke” by Sri Savita @sri_writes_here

According to the judges, "once all the scores were in, two authors were tied for the top score. However, after the judges reviewed everyone’s comments, it became clear that The Next Round was the winner."

The Next Round was also named a finalist under the Romantic Comedy category of the Emma Awards (Insta Announcement). It was also named a finalist in the DWRI Romance Book Literary Awards. (Insta Announcement)

This win and nominations came shortly after The Next Round was named a finalist for the Literary Global Book Awards.

Throughout 2025, The Next Round received thirteen accolades, including four wins:

Winner – 2025 IndieReader Discovery Award for Romance
Winner – 2025 Passionate Plume Award - Contemporary
Winner – 2025 HOLT Medallion Award - Best First Book
Winner – 2025 Emma Awards Best Debut Author of the Year
Finalist – 2025 HOLT Medallion Award - Long Contemporary
Finalist – 2025 American Fiction Awards - Romance
Finalist – 2025 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards – Romance
Finalist – 2025 Literary Global Book Awards - Fiction/Romance
Finalist – 2025 Emma Awards Best Romantic Comedy
Finalist – 2025 DWRI Romance Book Literary Award
Finalist – 2024© Reader Views Reviewer's Choice Literary Awards – Romance
Honorable Mention – 2025 Beach Book Festival - Romance
Honorable Mention – 2025 New York Book Festival - Fiction

Being named the 2025 Emma Award Debut Author of the Year was a fitting way to cap off a year for Eva, and a testament to the impact of The Next Round in its first year in readers' hands.

December 28 2025: The Next Round has been named a finalist for three categories across the Emma Awards and its flagship DWRI Romance Book Literary Award. Both are presented by Diverse Writers and Readers International (DWRI)and the RSJ Convention.

The Emma Awards are DWRI's premier romance book awards, celebrating multicultural excellence in romance and women’s fiction. These prestigious awards honour diverse authors across multiple romance subgenres—including interracial romance, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and more.

Each top entry in its respective genre is recognised, ensuring a wide range of multicultural love stories receive the spotlight they deserve. More than just an award, the Emma Awards promotes inclusive, relatable storytelling, helping diverse voices find their place on readers' shelves.

This year, The Next Round has been recognised as a finalist in Romantic Comedy, and Eva Frances has been named a finalist in the Debut Author of the Year category of the Emma Awards.

The Next Round has also been named a finalist in the DWRI Romance Book Literary Award, which recognises talented romance authors across all Romance genres.

The full list of finalists below:

Emma Award for Romantic Comedy Finalists:
“The Takeover” by Cara Tanamachi @caratanamachi
“The Next Round” by Eva Frances @evafranceswrites
“Grounds for Romance” by Mel Walker @authormelwalker

Emma Award for Debut Author of the Year Finalists:
“The Next Round” by Eva Frances @evafranceswrites
“The False Flat” by Melissa Collings @melissarcollings
“The Deed with the Duke” by Sri Savita @sri_writes_here

DWRI Romance Book Awards Finalists:
“Somebody To Love” by Mariah Ankenman @mariahankenman
“Feuds and Interludes“ by R.L. Merrill @rlmerrillauthor
“Starcrossed Nocturne” by Nadine Theiss @nadine.theiss.writer
“Want You Back” by Mel Walker @authormelwalker
“Servant of the Stone” by Saharra K. Sandhu @sksandhu_author
“Next Round” by Eva Frances @evafranceswrites
“Mishaps and Majors” by Alexa Santi @alexasantiauthor

Congratulations to all the finalists, and we can't wait to find out the winners on 31 December.
Well done, everyone!

December 21 2025: Today, the winners and finalists of the Literary Global Book Awards were announced, and The Next Round was included among the finalists in the Fiction-Romance category. The full set of winners and finalists is listed in the LGBA website.

The Literary Global Book Awards recognise excellence in the craft of storytelling and celebrate stories that make an impact around the globe.

Congratulations to everyone!

15 November 2025: The winners of the 2025 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards have been announced, and The Next Round has been named a finalist in the Romance category.

The winner and finalists in this category are as follows:

Winner:
Lenswoman in Love: a novel of the 1960s & '70s by Kim Gottlieb Walker

Finalists:

The Next Round by Eva Frances

A Dagger in the Ivy by Dorothy Dreyer
Bound by Her by MZ Rylan
Devil in Our Hearts: a steamy historical romance by Lizzie Jenks
That Girl: A small town, second chance, sports romance by Jennilynn Wyer
Dangerous Pursuit by Bethany Rosa
Blue Miracle by Blair Harton



The Independent Author Network presents the annual IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors with 75 fiction and non-fiction categories.

5 August: The winners of the New York Book Festival Awards 2025 have been announced today, with The Next Round receiving an Honorable Mention in the Fiction category.

The 2025 New York Book Festival considers published, self-published and independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, children’s books, young adult, how-to, poetry, wild card (anything goes!), unpublished stories, science fiction/horror, photography/art, spiritual, business, romance, cookbooks, memoir, self-help, compilations/anthologies and biography/autobiography works.

Submitted works were judged by a panel of industry experts using the following criteria:

1) General excellence and the author's passion for telling a good story.
2) The potential of the work to reach a wider audience.

Congratulations to all the winners and honorees!

Hurrah for The Next Round for its eighth industry accolade! 🎖️

28 June 2025: The Next Round has been announced as the winner of the Contemporary Romance category of the 2025 Passionate Plume Contest. Among the finalists in the category are the impressive works of Bay Sinclair, Jordyn Kross and Eve M. Riley:

Elevating Eve by Bay Sinclair
The Wrangler by Jordyn Kross
The Game by Eve M. Riley

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of all categories! A full list of winners and finalists is available on the Passionate Ink site

The Passionate Plume Contest is held annually by Passionate Ink. Passionate Ink is the prime advocate for authors of erotic fiction. With members from around the globe, their goal is to establish an official presence for erotic fiction within the literary genre, as well as serve as a voice in the industry. Passionate Ink allows erotic writers to be heard, understood, supported, encouraged and promoted.

21 June: The Next Round is a finalist in Passionate Ink’s 2025 Passionate Plume contest in the Contemporary category. The official finalist announcement from Passionate Ink is forthcoming.

The winner announcements will happen on Saturday, June 28th at Passionate Ink’s annual meeting online from 6-7:30pm Eastern time.

Fingers crossed for The Next Round 🤞

20 June: The Next Round receives Honorable Mention in the 2025 Beach Book Festival competition, which names all the hottest books of the summer.

Full Romance category winners list below.


ROMANCE

WINNER: Maddie + Max - Megan Effertz

RUNNERS-UP: An Improbable Alliance - Diane Cola-Ramsay, Living on a Prayer - Katrina Alexander, The Game - Eve M. Riley

HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Next Round - Eva Frances, Silver Lake Awakening - D.D. Franklin,


Congratulations all!