8 April 2019
Last year, the Strand Bookstore in New York convened an all-star panel titled Let's Woman-Splain Romance! The line to get in the door stretched down the block, and the room was thrumming with glee even before the panel started. This was not an audience that needed to be told that smart women read romance novels, or that the genre could be feminist. The authors speaking that night were all big names, including Beverly Jenkins, an iconic author of African American historical romance - who blew a kiss to the audience as she was introduced to whoops of delight - and two breakout stars of the previous year, Alisha Rai and Alyssa Cole.
