In defence of chick lit

For BBC News, Emma Jones reports from the Melissa Nathan Awards for Romantic Comedy.

Best-selling chick lit writer Sophie Kinsella, who sat on the judging panel, said: "There is some snobbery which I try to rise above. "

But in the end it's authors like Kinsella that are having the last laugh. She has the biggest backlist sales out of any female author in the UK, mainly thanks to the popular Shopaholic series which is currently being made into a film.

"I'd like to show people that this prize is about what people love to read - not what they feel they ought to read," she explained.

"I think people look at the pastel jackets and the swirly writing on the cover and dismiss it because it's about love. But really - what's more important in life than love?"