Black romance is a blooming section of romance industry and is still growing. Officially having its start in 1980 with Entwined Destines written by Rosalind Welles, black romance has expanded and taken shape over the years. While it's true that the genre could benefit from more authors and more books, black romance is a force to be reckoned with and getting stronger all the time. It is my hope to see the genre grow out of its own publishing lines (by sheer volume) and start to mingle alongside romance about white leads. Part of what will make this happen is for the genre to see writers become as influential and iconic as Nora Roberts
It is said that the head of Kensington Publishing had been visiting New York bookstore when he overheard two black women wishing for more African American romance. In 1994, Arabesque was created as the first major line for black readers. Since that point 250 titles by approximately 50 African-American authors have been published.
Arabesque was later bought by Harlequin, increasing the number of released books to 450. Now Arabesque is the nation's leading line of single-title African American romance. Besides publishing Arabesque, Harlequin also publishes Sepia, New Spirit, and Kimani Romance lines. Kimani is a female African-American name that means "sweet and beautiful." Kimani is Harlequin's equivalent to category romance as Kimani novels are mass-market paperback series.
I'm curious to learn if there are Caucasian writers writing about black leads and African American authors writing about white leads? After all we already know there are male authors producing novels that we love... this can't be too far of a stretch.
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This post was written by...
Keira – who has written 1034 posts on Love Romance Passion.
Keira's favorite type of heroes are blind, scarred, and tortured... yes, she understands those should be separate, but all 3 at once is also nice! She enjoys historical romances best and adores audio books because great narrators turn books into auditory/mental movies (and she loves her romantic dramas like Pride and Prejudice/North and South!) Learn more about Keira in My Instant Turn Ons, Offs, and Ifs.
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It’s interesting that there are 2 sides of African-American romances. As a librarian, I see both yet the demand for urban fiction is stronger. There are some great authors such as L.A. Banks (and all her various other names), Beverly Jenkins, Francis Ray, Brenda Jackson, and Shirley Hailstock, but it seems as if Terri Woods, Kiki Swinson, and of course, Zane are more popular. At least in my library.