Romance, Representation, and Publishing

Andi and Lise discuss what's known as the lesbian fiction publishing industry (as distinguished from "mainstream" publishers that publish LGBTQ+ fiction) and the role of books that feature romance as a main plot in the industry. They unpack the scarcity of genre fiction in lesbian fiction that isn't romance-driven (but may include romance as a subplot) and discuss the pros and cons of being defined by a particular genre. They're excited to see more books that include asexual, trans, and non-binary characters in romance, but they'd like to see more characters like that in genre fiction that may or may not have a romantic sub-plot.

Links of interest:

About Naiad Press

Obituary/bio of Barbara Grier, one of the founders of Naiad

Lise MacTague's list of publications

Andi Marquette's list of publications

A small list of lesbian fiction publishing houses: Bold Strokes Books, Bella Books, Bedazzled Ink Publishing, Bywater Books, Dirt Road Books, Flashpoint Publications, Launch Point Press, Sapphire Books Publishing, Ylva Publishing

Shout-outs: Lise got an electric bike for her birthday, and she's super-stoked about how it makes riding uphill so much easier! Highly recommend! Andi just finished the first in Tasha Suri's Burning Kingdoms series, The Jasmine Throne, which features two female protagonists thrown together in extremely difficult circumstances. Gorgeously written, political intrigue, excellent world-building, and F/F rep.