Romance in the Media J-Z

This page is for items which have appeared in the press or online news sources.

From this page you may return to the main Romance Scholarship page or go directly to

• Academics Who Write Romance
• Academic Online Essays (not published in academic journals or volumes)
• Autobiographies and Biographies of Romance Authors
• Bibliography
  • Bibliography A-C - the first part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography D-G - the second part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography H-L - the third part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography M-O - the fourth part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography P-S - the fifth part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography T-Z - the final part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
• Bibliography of Scholarship in Languages Other than English.
• Dissertation Abstracts
• Guides to the Genre
• Romance Resources for Academics - lists romance-related resources which may be of interest to academics.
• Writers on Romance - lists items written about the genre by romance authors but not published in academic journals or books.

You may also return to Romance in the Media A-I.

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J-K

Jackson, Beverly. 2012. "Fleet and Sweet." Publishers Weekly 259, no. 39: 58.[1]

James, Eloisa, 2011. 'Bringing past sex to life is complicated.' CNN, April 25, 2011.[2] [Re sex in historical romance.]

Jones, Tracy, 1997. 'Get your bodice-ripping hands off my genre!'. Salon, Oct. 7, 1997. ['There hasn't been a heaving bosom in a decent romance novel for years - but there has been plenty of guilt-free, female-friendly sex. Maybe that's why men keep bashing romances.'] [3]

Karras, Christy, 2007. 'Pursuit of happy endings: Romance writers finding release in popular form', Salt Lake Tribune, 02/12/2007. [4]

Katsoulis, Melissa, 2008. 'Melissa Katsoulis learns to write a Mills & Boon novel', The Times, January 25, 2008.[5]

Kean, Danuta, 2005. 'Let's hear it for romance', The Guardian, Thursday April 14, 2005.[6] 'Danuta Kean on the real, shameful reasons we're so snooty about romantic fiction.'

Kean, Danuta, 2010. 'Heroes? The new men of modern romantic fiction are about as sexy as socks', Daily Mail, 30th March 2010. [7]

Kennedy, Maev, 2000. 'An era swoons away as Mills and Boon goes photographic', The Guardian, Thursday July 13, 2000.[8] 'The most shattering literary news of the new millennium broke yesterday, the announcement that Mills and Boon is to abandon its cover drawings in favour of "modern imagery which shows empowered women" - ie, cover photographs.'

Kirkham, Chris, 2006. 'Passion Deep in the Heart of the Metro: Romance Novel Fans React to Slight', Washington Post, Tuesday, October 10, 2006. [9]

Koenig, Rhoda, 1983. 'Love for Sale', New York Magazine, 30 May 1983: 49-59. [10]

Krug, Nora, 2012. 'Nora Roberts’s three decades of writing have led to 200 books', Washington Post, 17 April 2012.[11]

L

Lee, Felicia R., 2008. 'A Romance Novelist Is Accused of Copying', The New York Times, January 12, 2008. [12] ["Who says romance novel fans care only about ripped bodices and manly men?" - a report into Cassie Edwards's alleged plagiarism.]

Luther, Jessica. 2013. 'Beyond Bodice-Rippers: How Romance Novels Came to Embrace Feminism', The Atlantic, 18 March 2013. [13]

M-N

Mahler, Jonathan, 2014. 'Bodice-Ripper in New Hands: News Corp. to Buy Harlequin for $415 Million', New York Times, 2 May 2014.[14]

Marantz Cohen, Paula, 2007. 'At first suspicious, but now appreciative of NR', The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sun, Apr. 15, 2007. [15] In which Nora Roberts is compared to Anthony Trollope.

Marvin, Elizabeth, 2008. 'Under Covers: How I overcame my secret addiction to steamy romance novels', Today's Christian Woman, January/February 2008, Vol. 30, No. 1, Page 42.[16]

Mayer, Petra, 2015. 'Beverly Jenkins Wraps Bitter History In Sweet Romance', NPR, August 08, 2015 5:08 AM ET. [17]

Mccarty-O’Kane, Roxanne, 2011. 'Romance loves a hero', Gold Coast Mail, 10th February 2011. [18] [Quotes from Robyn Grady, Rachel Bailey and Anna Campbell.]

McCauley, Mary Carole, 2012. 'McDaniel College offers new minor in genre fiction: Horror, romance and mystery novels are the heart of a new academic program that may be the first of its kind in the nation', The Baltimore Sun, March 23, 2012. [19]

McCullough, Christy, 2007. “Desert Hearts: In a New Crop of Romance Novels It’s Always Midnight at the Oasis.” Bitch 36:29–31. [20]

McGuire, Jennifer, 2007. 'Blame it on Harlequin; They brainwashed us into holding out for dark, autocratic men', The Sun Times, Tuesday, June 05, 2007. [21]

McKay, Hollie, 2013. '50 shades of no': Critics slam taxpayer-funded romance novel website', Fox News, December 19, 2013. [22] [Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn criticises the funding of the Popular Romance Project.]

Memmott, Carol, 2006. ‘Romance novels for women get frankly sexual’, USA Today, 20 February 2006.[23]

Mehegan, David, 2004. 'The new romantics: A local couple are passionate about publishing love stories for gay men', The Boston Globe, May 22, 2004.[24]

Miller, Brian, 2007. 'A Billion-Dollar Romance Novel Industry, And Its Lonely Black Author: The Fabio business finds itself short on diversity', Seattle Weekly, November 7, 2007.[25] [About 'race' and ethnic origins of authors within the romance industry, with special focus on African-American romance.]

Miller, Jen A., 2009. 'Writing romances, without the cliches', The Inquirer, Wed, Feb. 11, 2009. [26]

Montagne, Renée, 2002. 'Romance Novel Cover Stories: Cover Art Reflects Shifting Tastes, Mores over the Decades', NPR, Feb. 14, 2002.[27]

Moody, Chris, 2013. 'Federal government has spent nearly $1 million on romance', Yahoo News, December 17, 2013.[28] [The Popular Romance Project's funding is criticised by Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn]

Morgan, Spencer, 2010. 'Romance Fiction: Getting Dirty in Dutch Country', Bloomberg Businessweek, July 22, 2010.[29] ["Romance fiction is on the rise—aided by the success of unusual categories such as the Amish, knitting, and paranormal subgenres."]

Morris, Catherine Avril, 2003. 'The latest in lusty lit: They don't rip bodices like they used to', Metro Times, 1/15/2003. [Mostly a Harlequin Temptation reader, she explains that 'the term "bodice ripper." Coined by the media and still used — by the media — to describe any and all romance novels [...] has been both outmoded and out of favor for decades'].[30]

Morris, Linda, 2012. 'Conference celebrates "bonzer" author as so much more than just a prolific Austen imitator', The Sydney Morning Herald, February 25, 2012. [31] [Re a Georgette Heyer conference in Australia.]

Morris, Sophie, 2008. 'Romance inc.: Why the love industry flourishes', The Independent, Tuesday, 23 September 2008. [Without our insatiable appetite for romantic love, a large part of the mainstream economy would bump and grind to a halt. Luckily, finds Sophie Morris, the downturn hasn't affected the love industry yet.] [32]

Moser, Margaret, 2000. 'Looking for Love in All the Right Places: New Writers of the Purple Prose', The Austin Chronicle.[33] [The item focuses on the 'Romantic Times magazine's 18th annual Booklovers Convention', and the cover models but also includes other issues.]

Nahrung, Jason, 2007. 'Undead breathe new life', The Courier Mail, January 16, 2007. [34] 'A QUICK look at the new releases section at Rosemary's Romance Books in Brisbane's CBD and one thing is quickly apparent: vampires are hot. Real hot.'

Nagraj, Anuradha, 1998. 'Mills & Boons: 100 yrs, still on top', Indian Express, Thursday, October 29, 1998. [35]

Naughton, Julie. 2012. "Anything Goes." Publishers Weekly 259, no. 46: 27.

Naughton, Julie. 2012. "Small Towns, Big Sales." Publishers Weekly 259, no. 23: 20.[36]

Naughton, Julie. 2012. "YA Romance Makes the Honor Roll." Publishers Weekly 259, no. 23: 21.[37]

Naughton, Julie. 2012. "Yes, Virgil, There Are Men Writing Romance." Publishers Weekly 259, no. 23: 24.[38]

Naughton, Julie. 2013. "Checking Out Romance." Publishers Weekly 260, no. 22: 21.

Naughton, Julie. 2013. "Small Towns, Broad Tastes." Publishers Weekly 260, no. 22: 26.

Naughton, Julie. 2013. "In Love And War: Military Characters Spice Up Romance Novels." Publishers Weekly 260.45 (2013): 31-39.

Naughton, Julie. 2014. "In Loving Color: Romance 2014." Publishers Weekly Nov 07, 2014. [39] ["we look at how publishers and authors are meeting the growing demand for multicultural romance"]

O-P

O'Connor, Joanne, 2004. 'Just lie back and think of Tom Selleck...', The Observer, Sunday April 18 2004. [40] 'A blush rising to her cheeks, Joanne O'Connor learns the art of romantic fiction on a Mills & Boon writing holiday in Scotland'.

Ogunnaike, Lola, 2003. '"Romance Novels," She Said Adoringly; With Trembling Hand, She Reached Out and Caressed the Autograph', The New York Times, July 21, 2003. [Romance Writers of America's 23rd annual national conference - mentions various authors including Suzanne Brockmann, Nora Roberts, and Julia Quinn

Omer, Sevil, 2006. 'Hot, waterproof romance novels beckon bathers', Reno Gazette-Journal, 2/24/2006.[41]

Orazem, Katherine, 2010. 'In defense of romance: Proving the stereotypes wrong', The Yale Herald, Friday, February 12, 2010. [42]

Owen, Jonathan, 2016. 'Gransnet jumps into bed with racy publisher Mills & Boon for content partnership', Campaign, May 03, 2016.[43]['Romantic publisher Mills & Boon and the website Gransnet have announced what they call a "budding romance", and will begin working together to capitalise on the interest of older women in sex and romance.']

Pacio, Nerissa, 2006. 'Sex between the commas: Authors Turn up Heat in Women's Romance Novels', San Jose Mercury News, Sun, Mar. 19, 2006.[44]

Page, Thomas, 2016. 'Beyond heartache and Boko Haram: Nigerian women prove love is universal', CNN, 16 February 2016. [45]

Pandey, Ashutosh and Shubhankar Chakravorty, 2014. 'News Corp to buy Torstar's romance publisher Harlequin', Reuters, 2 May 2014. [46]

Park, Michael Y., 2002. 'Reading True Romance', Fox News, August 28, 2002.[47]

Pavao, Kate, 2003. 'Out of the Closet: Now more than ever, gay and lesbian characters are prominently featured in YA fiction', Publishers Weekly, 12/1/2003.[48] [These books are perhaps not marketed as 'romance' but one of the readers quoted in the piece says that 'above all these are passionate love stories, which are just so appealing and heartening for an adult reader'.]

Peck, Tom & Sophie Mills, 2008. 'Sex sells: Mills & Boon marks centenary with move to hardcore erotica', The Independent, Monday, 8 September 2008. [49]

Piepmeier, Alison, 2014. 'Forgive me if I've fallen in love with romance novels: Happy Endings', Charleston City Paper, 18 June 2014.[50]

Pinto, Jerry, 2010. 'India embraces Mills & Boon', The National, February 26. 2010. [51]

R

Rajagopal, Srinidhi, 2012. 'Romancing the Quill', Deccan Chronicle, July 27, 2012.[52] ["Shoma Narayanan is the first Indian author to become part of the Harlequin Mills & Boon banner"]

Rao, Mythili, 2009. 'Decades of beefcakes, bodices and Harlequin romances', CNN, Wed June 3, 2009. [53] [Re the exhibition of Harlequin cover art: "As sort of a 60th anniversary gift to its faithful readers, Harlequin is displaying original artwork for its covers in an New York exhibit called 'The Heart of a Woman: Harlequin Cover Art 1949-2009.'"]

Reardon, Patrick T., 2006. 'The mystery of sheik romance novels', Chicago Tribune, April 24, 2006.[54]

Reece, Diana, 2013. "Romance novelist Janet Dailey a pioneer but leaves ‘complicated legacy’", The Washington Post, December 23.[55]

Reed, J.D., 1981. 'From Bedroom to Boardroom', Time, April 13, 1981. [56]

Subhead: "Romance novels court changing fancies and adorable profits" matches the generally condescending tone of the article

Regis, Pamela, 2004. 'Romance: Bestselling popular novelists keep it all in the family', Washington Post, Sunday, October 24, 2004; Page BW13. [57].

Rendell, Joanne, 2009. 'Heaving Bosoms: A Tonic for the Recession?', The Huffington Post, April 30, 2009. [58] [Is an overview of the conference held at Princeton from 23-24 April 2009 on the topic of 'Love as the Practice of Freedom? Romance Fiction and American Culture'.]

Rendell, Joanne, 2009. 'Romancing the Academy', The Huffington Post, July 14, 2009. [59] [RWA, academic appreciation for the genre and academics in attendance at RWA 2009.]

Respers France, Lisa, 2009. 'Vampire romance novels suck in readers', CNN, November 25, 2009 7:59 a.m. EST.[60]

Rettig, Hillary, 2009. 'The Eroticization of Equality and Social Justice', The Huffington Post, May 11, 2009. [61] [Rettig's thoughts on the genre as inspired by the conference held at Princeton from 23-24 April 2009 on the topic of 'Love as the Practice of Freedom? Romance Fiction and American Culture'.]

Reynolds, Diane, 2006. 'Revealing the history of Romance novels', Carroll County Times, Wednesday, June 14, 2006. [62] [This is mostly an summary of comments by Pamela Regis]

Rich, Motoko, 2009. 'Recession Fuels Readers’ Escapist Urges', The New York Times, April 7, 2009. [63]

Roberts, Sam, 2015. 'Bertrice Small, 77, Writer of Risqué Romance Novels, Dies', New York Times, March 5, 2015. [64]

Rosen, Judith, 2004. 'What They Do for Love: Agents discuss their multi-faceted roles in bringing romance into print', Publishers Weekly, 11/15/2004.[65] [At the foot of the article several prominent romance authors, including Connie Brockway, Susan Wiggs, Eloisa James, Mary Balogh and Jo Beverley, talk about the writers and stories which gave them inspiration, most often Heyer but also Holt, Cinderella and others.

Rosenberg, Alyssa, 2013. 'Maggie Gallagher, Rape Culture, And The Persistent Idea That Women Can Tame Men And Need To Fix Them', Think Progress, Mar 26, 2013.[66]

S-T

Sabadus, Aura, 2006. 'Authors put the case for romance', The Scotsman, Sat 19 Aug 2006.[67]

Sachs, Andrea, 2009. 'The Global Boom in Bodice-Rippers', Time, Monday, Sep. 21, 2009. [68]

Sachs, Andrea, 2011. 'Galley Girl: Linda Lael Miller and the Rise of the Cowboy Romance Novel', Time, December 2, 2011.[69]

Sandler, Lauren, 2001. 'Throbbing hearts and thumping Bibles', Salon, July 12, 2001.[70] 'Christian authors are staking their claim on pop culture's steamiest preserve: Romance novels.'

Sanusi, Isa, 2016. 'A hunger for romance in northern Nigeria', BBC, 4 May 2016.[71]

Scappatura, Angela, 2009. 'The MAG: Cover story - Unrealistic Expectations about Romance', The Sudbury Star, February 7 2009. [72] [Includes a lot of quotes and some reading recommendations from Sarah Wendell of romance blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.]

Schonfeld, Zach, 2015. 'The Bizarre Nazi Love Story Tearing the Romance Lit World Apart', Newsweek, 8/9/15 at 10:50 AM. [73]

Scott, Megan K., 2009. 'In Tough Times, Romance Is Easy to Love', The Washington Post, Sunday, May 31, 2009. [74] ["Publishers are seeing strong sales in the romance genre as other categories decline and consumers cut back on spending."]

Segal, Francesca, 2008. 'Who said romance was dead?', The Observer, Sunday January 27, 2008.[75] [A report on Mills & Boon in its centenary year.]

Shin, Annys, 2011. 'SEALs go from superhero to sex symbol', The Washington Post, 6 May 2011.[76]

Singh, Anita, 2011. 'Mills and Boon "cause marital breakdown",' The Telegraph, 07 Jul 2011.[77]

Sourris, Marie-Christine, 2011. 'Lust for words', The Sunday Mail (Qld), November 20, 2011. [78] [About romance authors (and one romance reviewer) in Queensland, Australia.]

Spencer, Jim, 1983. 'The color of passion is mostly white', Chicago Tribune, 27 October 1983.[79]

Spencer, Jim, 1983. 'The merchants of romance labor with love', Chicago Tribune, 27 October 1983.[80]

Stanford, Peter, 2010. 'Love changes everything: The men picking up Barbara Cartland's baton', The Independent, Sunday, 14 February 2010. [81]

Stein, Sadie, 2014. 'The Unknown Ajax', Paris Review, 5 June 2014.[82] [About the language used by Georgette Heyer in her Regency romances.]

Stenhouse, David, 2005. 'America is turned on by kilt-ripping yarns: Sales of Scottish romance novels are rocketing in the US, where readers lust for a Highland fling', The Sunday Times, March 27, 2005.[83]

Stewart, Barbara, 1996. 'A Magazine for Romance Novels And the Women Who Love Them', The New York Times, December 10, 1996. [About Romantic Times Magazine and Kathryn Falk.][84]

Storey, Natalie, 2014. 'The Sheikh’s Prize Is Usually White', Los Angeles Review of Books, March 5th, 2014.[85]

Sujan, Dheera, 2007. 'In love with the romance novel', Radio Netherlands, 13-02-2007. [86]

Sweney, Mark, 2009. 'Mills & Boon ads woo younger readers', The Guardian, Wednesday 17 December 2008. [87] ["Ad agency St Luke's is set to redesign Mills & Boon covers."]

Tan, Teri. 2012. "Harlequin Woos Russian Readers." Publishers Weekly 259, no. 27: 21. Abstract

Tellez, Roseanne, 2006. 'Romance Novels Turn Up The Heat In Sex Sellers', cbs2chicago.com.[88]

Thurston, Robert W., 2016. 'Ordinary People Learn History from Teachers, Movies, and This', History News Network, 12 June 2016.[89] [About the historical content in historical romances]

Torrance, Kelly Jane, 2009. 'Finding romance online: Steamy stories, the privacy of a Kindle; together they make genre sales superhot', The Washington Times, Friday, June 19, 2009.[90]

Treble, Patricia, 2007. 'Harlequin thinks unsexy thoughts: Impotence is just the start: the new romance novels put the 'fun' back in sexual dysfunction', Macleans, September 24, 2007.[91]

Tschorn, Adam, 2011. 'Bodice-rippers unite: Authors and would-be authors, readers and agents gather in L.A. at annual romance writers convention', Los Angeles Times, 9 April 2011. [92] [About the 2011 RT conference]

Turner, Alice K., 1978. 'The Tempestuous, Tumultuous, Turbulent, Torrid and Terribly Profitable World of Paperback Passion', New York Magazine, 13 Feb. 1978. 46-49. [93]

U-Z

Urbina, Ian, 2006. 'That Which Simmers Is Not to Be Dissed', The New York Times, October 10, 2006. 'Plato’s “Republic” or bodice ripper? A Washington subway advertisement compares the two, and has irked fans of romance novels'. [94]

Walters, Ray, 1982. 'Paperback Talk', The New York Times, May 9, 1982. [Report on the Romantic Book Lovers Conference and on the second Romance Writers of America conference.][95]

Weber, Bruce, 1999. 'Romance Novelists: Profits Without Honor', The New York Times, August 3, 1999. [Coverage of the Romance Writers of America conference. Includes quotes from Leigh Greenwood and Jennifer Crusie.] [96]

Weldon, Fay, 2008. 'I still hide the cover when I read a Mills & Boon', The Telegraph, 20/01/2008. [97]

Weldon, Fay, 2008. 'Mills & Boon exhibition And Then He Kissed Me shows how women yearn for the dark stranger', The Times, June 4, 2008. [98]

Wendell, Sarah, 2009. 'Pride and Prejudice and Pedantry', Huffington Post, December 8, 2009 02:11 PM. [Response to Elsner, above] [99]

West, Rebecca, 1922. “The Tosh Horse.” New Statesman, Sept. 16th. Reprinted in Fleet Street: An Anthology of Modern Journalism. Ed. W. W. Cobbett and Sidney Dark. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1932. 188-193.[100] [Refers in particular to Ethel M. Dell's Charles Rex.]

Williams, Fred O., 2007. 'Harlequin makes Depew the capital of romance novels: Each year it ships 140 million books across North America', The Buffalo News, Business Today, Wednesday, March 28, 2007. [101]

Williams, Zoe, 2005. ‘Get Real’, The Guardian, G2 section, Thursday 11 August 2005.[102] 'Mills & Boon is to get a makeover, ditching the requisite fairytale ending. Surely that's missing the point, says Zoe Williams.'

Wilson, Cintra, 2010. 'W4M4M?: Meet Alex and Erastes, two women who write erotic man-on-man fiction for other women. Confused yet?', OUT, August 18, 2010. [103]

Wiser, Paige, 2006. 'Romance reigns on the love bus', Chicago Sun-Times, August 23, 2006.[104]

Witchel, Alex, 2005. 'A New Romance', The New York Times, June 12, 2005.[105] 'Say amen, Dorothy. This Oz is the brave new world of the gay male romance novel.'

Wolff, Isabel, 2004. 'In defence of romance', The Guardian, Tuesday March 2, 2004.[106] 'Isabel Wolff is proud to be part of the romantic fiction tradition that includes the Brontës, Tolstoy and Austen.'

Wong, Venessa, 2012. 'Love Under Harlequin's Covers: It takes more than a toga and spray-on tan to create a steamy romance-novel cover image', Bloomberg BusinessWeek, February 10, 2012. [107]

Wyatt, Edward, 2004. ' "Sorry, Harlequin," She Sighed Tenderly, "I'm Reading Something Else"', The New York Times, August 17, 2004.[108]

Zaitchik, Alexander, 2003. ‘The Romance Writers of America convention is just super’, New York Press, Vol 16: 30, 22 July 2003.[109]

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