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Steamy, sultry and stigmatized no more: romance novels are having a moment

Feb 13, 2024
They used to sell as a guilty pleasure to be hidden away. Now they're cool and out in the open.
Books Inc. in Mountain View, California went from a couple shelves of romance to a full bay in recent years.
Meghan McCarty Carino/Marketplace

Preparing for a bump in book sales, post-Nobel win

Oct 6, 2023
The new Nobel laureate in literature, Jon Fosse, is known in much of the world, but has yet to become a household name in the US.
Norwegian writer Jon Fosse — recent recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature — poses for a photo at his home near Frekhaug, Norway, on Oct. 5.
Eirik Hagesaeter/Bergensavisen/AFP via Getty Images

New Orleans bookstore owner has holiday ordering, and supply chains, on their mind

Oct 11, 2021
Candice Huber, owner of Tubby & Coo's, is concerned about printing delays and hoping customers order soon for the holidays.
"We've done really well with online orders and curbside pickup orders," says Candice Huber, owner of Tubby & Coo's.
Courtesy Candice Huber

Book printers are reporting a surprising end-of-year crunch

Jan 1, 2019
For the first time in a decade the industry is seeing more demand than it can supply.
"Now we get about five to 10 queries every single week from people who are really faced with the prospect of having to turn their home environment into their office environment," said Nick Bates, CEO of Bookbarn International.
iStock/Getty Images

Everybody falls in love: diversity in the romance industry

May 11, 2018
For every 100 books published by leading romance publishers in 2017, only 6.2 were written by people of color.
The Koch sisters say they intend their store to be a feminist, sex-positive space. "I just love seeing romance readers realize that we have built this for them. It is our love letter to them, and to this genre," says Bea Koch.
Paulina Velasco/Marketplace