Library Journal will be previewing upcoming winter/spring Romance titles in our October 15 issue. The focus will be on first novels, notable series debuts, e-originals, and stand-alone titles to be published between October 2017 and April 2018. Please consider the following suggested topics and any other subjects in which you think our librarian readers would be interested. We’d love to hear from you, your editors, and your authors on any or all of them (please identify each respondent with full name and title; don’t want to demote anyone).

• Debut authors and series (we love to spotlight both)
• Romance genre trends:
• Inclusion/diversity has become a huge focus of our consciousness and concerns. Have you found continued/expanded interest in romance with characters of diverse backgrounds? Does that include interracial romance? What is the status of LGBTQ-themed works?
• We still seem to see the majority of historical titles set in England in the 19th century (whether Regency or Victorian). Will that ever truly expand to other periods or just the occasional Georgian or medieval? Will historical U.S. works (outside of Westerns, e.g., Revolutionary War, Civil War, Industrial Revolution) find traction?
• Is sexuality more graphic or veiled of late? Where might that leave Christian romance?
• Sports titles seem to be popular, but now women are “playing” a bigger role as participants. Are female protagonists more or less gritty in the titles you’ve seen?
• Does geography matter? Does a Colorado-based romance with cowboys attract more readers than novels with a successful loner business exec in New York or a wealthy resort owner in Miami? Are international settings for contemporary romance finding their footing?
• Are medical-themed stories regaining some of their past popularity? Are more home-grown professions (contractor, baker, mechanic, even librarians) the way to go? What other livelihoods are in vogue now? Are bands and rock stars finding their groupies?
• Will military romance retain its audience? Or political romance featuring elected officials? Mysteries are always big, but do romantic mysteries still have a way to go to capture readers?
• Don’t want to leave it for last, but can we still count on paranormal as a strong romance contender? It’s waned and waxed, but should it be counted out just yet?
• Publishing issues:
• Are publishers buying more self-published titles or courting more self-published authors? Are ebooks a bigger part of the publishing landscape or does print still hold sway?
• Are short stories, anthologies, novellas a part of the romance world? Does “size” matter?
• Does reality TV influence publishing choices? Are more men writing romance?
• What hot trends do you see coming for 2018?

We will also be including your top titles for the coming season within the narrative feature itself and in a companion list. Please email the following information: author, title, pub date, marketing plans, and a brief description—catalog copy will suffice—to our author, Joyce Sparrow, at sparrowjhr@gmail.com and be sure to cc me, Bette-Lee Fox, at blfox@mediasourceinc.com.

The deadline for submitting information is August 11, 2017.

Thank you,

Bette-Lee Fox
Managing Editor
Library Journal
123 William St., Suite 802
New York, NY 10038