Romance by authors of color

Over the past week, there’s been a spirited discussion on Romance Twitter (yes, it’s a thing) about the way the industry and publishers treat authors of color as well as readers of color. Authors told stories about being shunted to “ethnic” imprints, seeing books by white authors featuring characters of color with racist tropes in them, and, in one thoughtless thread, someone asked if people of color even wanted to read or write romance.

If you’re wondering how to find an author of color writing good romance, here are some great recent choices available at the Seattle Public Library:

Noteworthy 2015 RITA Award Finalists

-Posted by Eric G.

The Romance Writers of America (RWA) announced the winners of the 2015 RITA Awards at their annual conference on July 25^th. The RITA is one of the most prestigious awards for romance writers and its numerous subcategories showcase the variety within romance publishing. That being said, there were many excellent books nominated that didn’t walk away with the prize this year.

 

Best First Book nominee: A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

Despite not winning Best First Book, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more winning romance from the past year than Sonali Dev’s debut. This joyful love story is steeped in rich Indian culture and was a library favorite that ended up on numerous staff-curated lists. Pick it up and join us in singing its praises.

 

Romantic Wednesdays: Staff Picks

For the past two years we have been highlighting the robust and diverse romance genre on Wednesdays. Despite its staggering popularity, the romance genre doesn’t always get respect or recognition from mainstream press and book awards. It’s been our goal with this column to give romance the love it deserves (pun intended) and acknowledge its massive readership, which includes many librarians at The Seattle Public Library. As we prepare to take a hiatus from this regular column, we asked these librarians to give a shout out to some of their favorite books and authors. Feel free to share some of your favorites in the comments, and happy (ever after) reading!

Romantic Wednesdays: Just Like Starting Over

By Jessica W.

Every year, January comes around and we make resolutions. Find love, learn a new language, go to the gym, we try to give ourselves a new start, a fresh page with the beginning of a new year. Some of us go farther than others when we want a new start—we don’t just start a new habit, we try to start a new life. In these romances, that new life comes with a new love. One of the things I also love about the starting over trope is that the hero or heroine also has to forge platonic relationships, giving the novels a big cast of characters to get to know in addition to the hero and heroine.

Romantic Wednesdays: Librarian Favorites of 2014

By Eric G.

Library Reads, a website that compiles the favorite books of librarians each month, recently released their “Favorites of the Favorites 2014” list, which highlights the books that have stood out among the favorites this year. I wanted to highlight three titles that made the cut because they also offer sweet, unconventional love stories.