A recent article on The Guardian titled "Chick lit author on Dream Street with literary prize" describes the Melissa Nathan Award for comedy romance, which was recently won by novelist Lisa Jewell for her book 31 Dream Street. To quote the article, "The book tells the story of the burgeoning love between a misfit, failed poet and his neighbour, who has for years been watching him and his string of unusual tenants from her house across the street."

The article quotes Jewell as saying, "The award is definitely something the genre needs, and more importantly is something the reader needs. People say 'chick lit' and what they mean is 'crap'."

I'm sure most spec fic writers could empathize. And unlike the Hugo, which is nice but comes with just a statue, this award comes with £5,000 (about $10,000 USD, these days). Not that I'm sneering at the Hugo, but extra bucks to go along with the honor never hurts.