“An Extraordinary Union” by Alyssa Cole
“Being Plumville” by Samantha Frierson
“Treasure” by Rebekah Weatherspoon

A new report on race and romance novels finds that although many publishers have promised to publish more romance from writers of color that feature diverse characters, very little progress has been made.

The study comes from Leah and Bea Koch, Millennial sisters who run a thriving romance-only bookstore in L.A. called The Ripped Bodice. I plan to make a pilgrimage to it someday and there’s a chance I’ll run into Stacy Abrams there, who is a big fan and a romance writer herself.

But Abrams is the exception, as a romance writing and published woman of color, certainly not the rule.

The report from The Ripped Bodice, issued earlier this month, finds that of all of the novels published in the romance genre in 2020, only 12 percent were by authors of color — and most of those novels were published by Kensington — leaving the other publishers with almost nothing to show for their public commitments several years ago to diversify their lines.

The report also follows a searing controversy last year at Romance Writers of America — with so many twists and turns that it’s too complicated to go into quickly . Suffice it to say that RWA — founded by a Black romance editor in 1980, has been assailed by charges of racism and gatekeeping to prevent authors of color from getting published.

All of this is to say: If romance is your jam, support romance writers of color so the genre is flush with fresh voices and terrific stories.  

Here are three romance writers to get you started:  Alyssa Cole’s Civil War series opens with “An Extraordinary Union.”  “Being Plumville” by Samantha Frierson is set in the Georgia of 1968 where an interracial relationship shocks a small town. And “Treasure” by Rebekah Weatherspoon features a relationship between two women who meet in college.

Want more romance recommendations? Check out O Magazine’s December list of the 42 best romance novels of 2020.

— Kerri Miller | MPR News