Fiction Genre Study: Romance

History of the Genre

Jane Austen (Regencies—picked up by Georgette Heyer in the 1920s & 30s, first historical romances)

Banned erotic novels (Henry Miller, Marquis Du Sade, Lady Chatterly’s Lover

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodwiss (1972)

            first modern romance novel—original paperback, distributed in drugstores & grocery stores

            “Bodice Rippers” of the 70s & 80s—now considered offensive/derogatory term, depicted forced/abusive sex

Romance Literature Statistics—RWA Market Research Study

·        Romance fiction generated $1.37 billion in sales in 2008. 1 in 4 books sold is a romance (Time, 9/21/09).

·        7,311 new romance titles were released in 2008.

·        In 2008, romance was the top performing category on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists.

·        Romance fiction sales are estimated at $1.36 billion for 2009.

·        74.8 million people read at least one romance novel in 2008. (source: RWA Reader Survey)

·        Romance fiction was the largest share of the consumer market in 2008 at 13.5 percent.

·        Romance Market Share Compared to Other Genres

o       Romance fiction: $1.37 billion in estimated revenue for 2008

o       Religion/inspirational: $800 million

o       Mystery: $668 million

o       Science fiction/fantasy: $551 million

o       Classic literary fiction: $446 million

Definition (From RWA Website):

A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around two individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.

An Emotionally-Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.

Romance novels may have any tone or style, be set in any place or time, and have varying levels of sensuality—ranging from sweet to extremely hot. These settings and distinctions of plot create specific subgenres within romance fiction.

Romance Novel Formats

·        Series or "category" romances: books issued under a common imprint/series name that are usually numbered sequentially and released at regular intervals, usually monthly, with the same number of releases each time. These books are most commonly published by Harlequin/Silhouette.

·        Single-title romances: longer romances released individually and not as part of a numbered series. Single-title romances may be released in hard cover, trade paperback, or mass-market paperback sizes.

Library Treatment

Paperback Romance section (mass markets)

Paperback editions go out of print quickly

Hardcover & trade paperbacks interfiled

In line for a future large breakout collection—don’t know what that will look like

Awards

Romance Writers of America: RITA Awards—recognizes outstanding published novels & novellas in 12 categories

Resources

Amazon.com Romance page

www.eharlequin.com  (book lists, occasional free pdfs)

www.rwanational.org (Romance Writers of America)

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

www.theeroticreader.com

www.romantictimes.com

www.theromancereader.com

Readers

People turn to escapist reading in hard economic times (just like they turn to chocolate and pantyhose)

            Comfort reading—guaranteed happy ending

            Upbeat, simple, easy to follow

Readers are mostly women

More issue-driven books (reflecting womens’ changing roles, more single mothers, etc.)

Description/Categories

Many authors write in different subgenres

In addition to ARRT Workbook categories:

“Novels with strong romantic elements”

            Plot goes beyond typical romance boundaries—Danielle Steel, Jackie Collins, Barbara Taylor Bradford

Category Romances (Paperback romance)

originally based on Romance Writers Pink Pages (1993)—now obsolete

            Gave page counts & word counts; precise descriptions for what they would publish

Harlequin: 30 imprints

            guidelines for writing in each of their imprints are on their website

Inspirational Romance: Religious or spiritual beliefs are a major part of the romantic relationship

            Francine Rivers

            Terri Blackstock                       

            Karen Kingsbury

            Beverly Lewis—Amish

            Publishers: Bethany House, Zondervan, Tyndale House, Steeple Hill

Nonfiction Genre Study: Biography

Meeting Notes:

Difference between Memoir and Biography
memoirs are very personal in nature; biographies are more formal
the terms are often used interchangeably

Popular Authors:

• David McCullough


• Andrew Morton


• Kitty Kelly


• Alison Weir

Biography is the most popular area of the nonfiction collection

In recent years, many biographies aren't being classified as Biography in OPPL's collection (i.e. entertainers, sports figures). They are being picked up by the Nonfiction Biography and Memoir breakout collection.

Young Adult Genre Study: African American Interest

9/23/09

Meeting Notes
Young Adult / African American Fiction

Street Lit vs. Literary is a strange dichotomy in African American Fiction

History of the Genre

YA as we know it goes back to the 70s and 80s. There are many classic novels that have coming-of-age themes that predate this, but are still taught.

African American Fiction has its roots in black experience

1980s: Literary authors were popular: Sharon Draper, Walter Dean Myers, Jacqueline Woodson

“the Problem Novel”—about serious issues like abuse, drugs, mental problems. They are frequently depressing, realistic, gritty. They are often morality tales (Go Ask Alice)

YA fiction in the 1980s had very few black teen characters

Street Lit Resurgence

Mid-late 1990s—resurgence in adult publishing

Gritty voice, about scandal & crime

By and for African Americans

Large teen audience

Several teen street lit series:

Bluford High—school stories; lots of boy characters

Kimani Tru—romance

Drama High—school

Hotlanta—squeaky clean, two middle-class girls

White authors writing black characters:

Virginia Euwer Wolff

Chris Crutcher

E.R. Frank

Coretta Scott King Award is a good list to look up for RA questions about African American fiction for teens.

Fiction Genre Study: Mystery

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/
        Check this site for info on authors & characters, new releases, location index, readalikes, character jobs, diversity index, awards and more

The presentation is here.

And here is a good list of mystery authors matched up with other genres.

Nonfiction Genre Study: History

Young Adult Genre Study: Supernatural

Fiction Genre Study: Multicultural

MULTICULTURAL FICTION

DEFINITION: Multicultural fiction relates the American experience from minority points of view. These books can be literary fiction, popularly written family stories, romances, mysteries, or any other genre. This list provides a small sample of authors from various cultures, but only begins to touch on the diversity present in America. See also: African American Fiction.

CHARACTERISTICS: Multicultural fiction’s primary characteristic is a minority character or group’s perspective. Typically the main characters are members of a minority group; mere inclusion of secondary characters who belong to a minority group does not qualify a novel as a work of multicultural fiction. Groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered, Hispanic Americans/Latinos, Jewish Americans, Native Americans, and other cultures are included in multicultural fiction. Since multicultural fiction includes various genres, it is as diverse in style as it is in characters’ perspectives.

APPEAL: Readers belonging to a particular culture identify with the cultural backdrop of the story and appreciate the validation of their experience. Readers outside the culture represented in a novel can gain an understanding of the lives and cultures of their neighbors.

READERS: Readers of multicultural fiction include people of all backgrounds and ages. As mentioned above, readers may be drawn to multicultural fiction for its familiarity to their own experience or for its power to introduce them to other viewpoints. Literary fiction written from a particular cultural viewpoint often introduces the theme of cultural differences within society, which can make these novels excellent choices for book discussions. Readers of a particular genre often read multicultural fiction within that genre.

SUBGENRES: Rather than dividing into subgenres, multicultural fiction instead includes all genres and styles, including adventure, fantasy, gentle reads, historical fiction, horror, literary fiction, mystery, romance, science fiction, suspense/thrillers, and women’s fiction.

TOP AUTHORS: African American: Toni Morrison; Asian American: Amy Tan; Gay and Lesbian: Armistead Maupin; Hispanic American: Julia Alvarez

TRENDS: The major trend is that multicultural literature has, to a great extent, gone mainstream. Multicultural novels appear on the bestseller lists, win mainstream literary awards, and are considered mainstream fiction by some readers.