The Romance Wars

In 1980, the romance novel market began to change dramatically. Harlequin took back its distribution rights from Simon & Schuster. S&S responded by creating a series romance imprint called Silhouette. Even though Simon & Schuster was not the publisher of Harlequin's books, the financial arrangement was too lucrative to let go.

Though Single Titles -- romances that were not part of a series or line -- existed before the 1980's, single titles and authors who wrote in that realm proliferated in the 80's. These longer, more complex novels expanded the romance genre. All major publishers had single title imprints, and Harlequin entered the game with Worldwide Library in 1986. This imprint did not last.