The Big Business of Selling Romance

Romance novels account for 34% of all fiction sold annually and have spawned some of the largest blockbuster franchises of our time. But what's the real reason readers gobble them up? Strong heroines? Sex-on-the-page? The Happily Ever After? Muscly guys on the covers? Romance is both a niche market and a multi-billion dollar industry. How does a publishing company garner publicity, spur sales, and ultimately get respect for a genre that inspires both derision and adoration? Join us for a public conversation with HarperCollins publicist Caroline Perny.

A light lunch will be served.

More info: https://fsp.trinity.duke.edu/projects/unsuitable-women-history-popular-fiction

Co-sponsors include Duke's Forum for Scholars and Publics, African & African American Studies, History Department, Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, Religious Studies, Kenan Institute for Ethics, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, #Artstigators, and the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute.