Below is the list of the categories for the 2025 Sultry Listeners Awards. Please refer to the "Ultimate Guide to the Romance Genre" and/or "Romance and Its Subgenres Explained" articles for the definition/requirements of sub-genres and additional information.
Contemporary Romance
Cozy Mystery Romance
Dark Romance
Erotic Romance (aka Smut)
Fantasy Romance (aka Romantasy)
Historical Romance
Horror Romance
Inspirational Romance
LGBTQ+ Romance
Novella/Short Story*
Paranormal Romance
Own / Authentic Voices / BIPOC Romance**
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Suspense
Sci-fi Romance
Urban Fantasy Romance
Favorite New Narrator (must have 20 or less titles)
Favorite Up-And-Coming Narrator (must have between 21 - 50 titles)
Favorite Narrator (51 titles or more)
**Own / Authentic Voices / BIPOC Romance:
Nominees (aka Author) and at least one main character in the story (audiobook/book) must identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color or other underrepresented group or ethnic group in a specific country or territory.
This may include:
- African American / Black / African and/or Caribbean descent
- East Asian (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Mongolian)
- Hispanic or Latina/e/o/x
- Indigenous Peoples (including Native American / Alaskan Native)
- Middle Eastern / North African
- Pacific Islander
- South Asian (including Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan)
- Southeast Asian (including Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Thai, and Vietnamese)
- Novels are 40,000 words (200 pages) or longer
- Novellas are between 17,500 (35 pages) and 40,000 words (200 pages)
- Short stories are between 1,500 words (3 pages) and 7,500 words (35 pages)