Romance

In 2016, we had been open for one intense and educational year as the only romance-focused bookstore in the country. After one year of building a community of romance-loving customers, it became abundantly clear to us that readers were looking for more racial diversity in their romance novels.  Read more

In 2020, it's easy to feel like we're living in a dystopian tale, and many of us are in survival mode. We naturally look to food, water, safety, clean air, masks, jobs, and healthcare for sustenance. But we also look to stories to keep us going. We at Shondaland understand the power of storytelling because that's what we do. We also know the power of a good book.  Read more

For years, RWA's members of color had felt stigma and hostility like that experienced by Huguley and Malone; they'd felt unwanted, disrespected, or simply shut out. So had the queer members, and the poly members, and everyone else who didn't quite fit into the traditional romance mold.  Read more

I love romance. I loved it long before I ever fell in love, and romance narratives served as a kind of template for my own early love-affairs. I filled out diaries with imagined meet-cutes between my crushes and me, assigning them lines I had read some other, more sophisticated love interest say.  Read more

As a controversy over bias and a lack of transparency at the Romance Writers of America continues to roil the country's foremost writers association for romance writers, the RWA has announced that it will postpone the 2020 RITA Contest until next year. The RITA Award is the U.S.'s top prize for romance fiction.