Help power Marketplace this winter when you support the show today. Donate Now!

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

That best-selling romance book? It might be based on fan fiction

Sep 6, 2023
Major publishing houses are looking to popular fan fiction sites to find new authors.
One popular fan fiction romantic pairing is Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver in the "Star Wars" movies, and Rey Skywalker.
Theo Wargo/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