In 2019, a well known romance writer began tweeting about other writers in her community and concerns about racism. It led to a huge reckoning within an organization called the Romance Writers of America, which is still unfolding. And although the online debate seemed to be isolated to a specific community of romance writers and their fans, it was really a microcosm of what's been happening all over the US. We learn all about romance novels and how newer writers are changing the norms of the genre, and giving it a political power it's never had before. And, we talk about what it means for organizations to change as they grapple with questions of race, including organizations such as ours, at Making Contact. This is an encore presentation of part two of a two-part series.

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Featuring:

• Contance Grady
• Shana McDavis-Conway
• CJ Broderick
• Jayashree Kamble
• Jessica Partnow 

Making Contact Team:

• Host: Salima Hamirani
• Producers: Salima Hamirani, Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang and Amy Gastelum
• Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman

Music:

• Frequency Decree - Cenote
• Broke for Free- Washout
• Frequency Decree - Lithosphere
• Blue Dot Sessions - Boston Landing 

 

Learn More:

• Constance Grady's Article for Vox
• The Romance Writers of America
• International Association for the Study of Popular Romance
• Making Meaning in Popular Romance Fiction: An Epistemología
• The Equity Project
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
• Recommended Reading list