NoveList Book Squad: Genreland: Multicultural Romance

Romance for Everyone?

L.A.'s Ripped Bodice bookstore made headlines recently with their report, "The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing," which gathers data about romance novels by and about people of color. (Spoiler: romance publishing isn't very diverse.)

As the bibliographer in charge of the NextReads Romance newsletter, I am VERY familiar with this issue, which (alas!) is something of a vicious cycle:

Comparatively few books by/about POC are published.
Even fewer are reviewed in trade publications, meaning that
Libraries are less likely to purchase these titles, meaning that
Romance readers may not ever find them, meaning that
Publishers have little incentive to publish more.

Now, the Book Squad can't fix publishing's institutional blindspots, but we CAN use our librarian powers to shine a spotlight on multicultural romance. -Gillian

NoveList's Genre Guide on Multicultural Romance:

"These books establish men and women of color as the heroes and heroines of their own love stories. Protagonists’ heritage and cultural identity are integral to the story."

Now, the term "multicultural romance" has its fans and its detractors. For NoveList's metadata librarians, it's a delicate balancing act: on the one hand, no one wants to segregate certain books; on the other hand, we do want to make it as easy as possible for readers to find the books they seek.

Sometimes, this requires grouping them in a way that's specific enough to be meaningful yet broad enough to be inclusive. Our solution, for now, is our Multicultural romance genre heading. I say "for now" because we're constantly evaluating our terminology and making changes as genres evolve. What do you think? Are there more effective ways to connect these books and readers?

ISO Diversity in Romance

Everyone deserves stories that speak to their own lived experiences. However, some readers' experiences are underrepresented in fiction. (I don't often see my own HEA reflected in romance even though intermarriage is on the rise in the U.S., and sadly, I know I'm not alone.) Whether you're helping a particular patron or putting together a book display, these searches will yield results.

Play the Field

Start with this simple search:

GN Multicultural romances

This genre heading covers everything, which is great for seeing what's out there.

Get What You Want

Seeking romance starring African American characters?

Copy/paste these searches:

GN African American fiction AND GN Contemporary romances

GN African American fiction AND GN Historical romances

Your Perfect Match

Looking for characters with particular racial or ethnic identities and backgrounds?

Romance genre headings + subject headings = your perfect match

Examples:

GN Contemporary romances AND SU Hispanic Americans

GN Multicultural romances AND SU Interracial dating

For a More Inclusive Reading Life

Before you go, consider subscribing to Autumn's Diverse Reading emails -- which, by the way, cover ALL the genres (plus non-genre books). For a sample, check out "Love is for Every Body," which looks at the romance genre's (varied) portrayals of people with disabilities.

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