From the Editors: May Chen of Morrow/Avon
There’s room in romance for experienced authors and first-timers alike,” writes Rachel Kramer Bussel of her discussion with Harper Collins’ May Chen:
Mediabistro: The romance, erotica and chick lit genres all seem to be growing exponentially. With over 2,000 romance titles published each year, an estimated 51 million readers, over $1 billion in annual sales and a national organization, Romance Writers of America (RWA), comprised of 9,500 members worldwide, it’s understandable that the genre keeps expanding to go after these voracious readers. Can you comment on what the latest trends are and where you see these fields going? Is there room for infinite expansion?
Chen: I think trends tend to be cyclical and the genre is always changing. I do think there is room for infinite expansion – at the very least room for infinite interpretations. We’ve seen the huge revival of paranormal romances within the past few years, and now with the emergence of erotica, we’re also seeing paranormal erotica being written and published. There are all these interesting permutations. Chick-lit is definitely changing and need to change and grow in order to keep up with readers’ developing tastes. We’re no longer only interested in reading about the “girl in the cubicle with a shopping addiction” stories, but now we want to know what happened to the girl once she leaves the cube in 20 years, or what would happen if the girl was Asian? African-American? Or if she was a crime fighter or amateur sleuth? Or if she fought vampires and werewolves? We’re looking for stories with a broader scope to reach a wider audience.
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