Love is for everyone. Modern romance writers are breaking barriers to show it
This excellent article goes over romance's rocky history with diversity. Along with interviewing authors, both new and those well-known in the genre, it examines how far romance in traditional publishing has come. From authors seeing themselves for the first time in books they had to write to entire shelves with queer or BIPOC protagonists on store. Most importantly, the article examines why sometimes this visibility isn't enough, and the steps the romance publishing industry can and should take to ensure it remains diverse and for everyone, not just the specific branch of readers the genre has attempted to remain boxed in for decades.
The Changing Face of Romance Novels
Another article that emphasizes the importance of diversity in romance and how hard it has been to get the genre where it is now. Despite diverse authors and books having existed for so long, the books with the biggest attention and marketing pushes tend to look the same: straight, white, non-disabled, thin couples. The article digs in to how seeing more diverse characters in romance has impacted both readers and the authors of romance themselves, as well as makes a point to show that this has been an ongoing battle. Authors of diverse romance have often had to find a thousand ways to prove to traditional publishing that their books can sell: through small presses, digital outlets, and self-publishing. Despite being million-copy bestsellers now, these are authors that did not originally have publisher support, all because of the kind of stories they wrote. Books that are seen as "risky" are often missing from big retailers.
The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report
Done yearly, the State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report was started by Lea and Bea Koch, sisters and owners of The Ripped Bodice, the first romance-only bookstore in the States. Ongoing since 2016, the report is separated by publisher, and puts into numbers how many books were written by BIPOC authors under that publisher every given year. The data is eye-opening and concerning; for example, total industry wide, in 2023, only around 10% of books were written by BIPOC authors; a decrease from the year before's number of around 12%. All books included in the report must have a BISAC code of "romance".
Why Are Romance Novels So White?
Despite having a focus on Canada, this article digs into the nitty gritty of diversity conversation in romance: Namely, that the majority of staff in publishers are white, and that leads to a bias. With quotes from author Jane Igharo, reading this article shows how callous people can be when thinking about outside of their identity, such as a white literary agent wanting to look at her work because "diversity is in". This article also briefly goes over the infamous implosion of Romance Writers of America; while perhaps not needed to begin one's romance journey, what happened to RWA is an important part of romance history and a great example of how authors of color can quickly be mistreated by their peers. However, the article also turns to hope: there are more associations than just the RWA for emerging romance writers, and opportunities seem to be growing by the day.
This article is great for looking at how well queer romance is doing recently. In all subgenres of romance, people want to see themselves more and more. After big hits like Red White and Royal Blue, it's nice to see publishers listen. TikTok, specifically BookTok, has also helped queer authors and books gain visibility; type in a few keywords and you have thousands of recommendations in your hands. Selling on trope has long been done in romance, but now those effective marketing strategies can be done to uphold queer and other marginalized identities and stories, making them bestsellers.
Available through JSTOR, the fifth chapter in a book exploring disability in contemporary fiction, Desirable Futures: Romance explores why disability has been unpopular in romance for decades (the reality of thousands seen as "too depressing"), how the Happily Ever After has often been anti-disability, and what role disability has taken in romance, usually. However, it also explores how existing disabled characters in romance might change people's views on disability, and how the genre can make space and create a way for disability to raise awareness and bring disabled joy rather than suffering.