Journal of Popular Romance Studies

A good few days for publications by long-time romance scholars @profromance.bsky.social , @jessicatripler.bsky.social and @emselinger.bsky.social:

Kamblé, Jayashree (2026). "Recolouring the romcom: humor, respectability, and race in a 1986 American category romance novel." Comedy Studies.

#RomanceResearch

🚨 Our first article of the year is out now! "Romancing the Darkness: Understanding Trauma in the Romance Genre", by Alicia Leigh, is published as an Early Access Piece in JPRS. Follow the link to read about the three trauma-themed romance subgenres proposed by the author: doi.org/10.70138/ZOG...

The Journal of Popular Romance Studies (@jprstudies.bsky.social) did a special issue on Black Romance novels in 2022. It includes scholarly articles and interviews with Black Romance authors.

www.jprstudies.org/issues/volum...

#Romancelandia #RomanceBookSky #BlackBookSky

From Bridgerton to Heated Rivalry, what’s the secret to a good book-to-TV romance?

More and more romance adaptations are starting to appear – but what makes the translation from page to screen really sing?

It does!!

Text on the image: Topics of interest may include but are not limited to: Sports in romance narratives in a variety of media, including but not limited to: genre fiction, memoir, screen media, music, or in the teaching of these media. The significance of self-publishing in contemporary sport romance The relationship between sport fan communities, romance fan communities and sport romance fiction ‘BookTok’ and the impact of sport romance fan behaviour on athletes Precursors to contemporary sport romance such as Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles and Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Chicago Stars Portrayals of gender difference and subversion in sport romance Class, wealth and celebrity in sport romance Queer themes and homophobia within sport culture as explored in sport romance Young Adult sport romance and the pedagogical interventions endeavoured by sport romance in young people’s physical activity

CfP 🚨 Are you interested in #RomanceResearch and Sports? JPRS is calling for papers for its special issue on Sport Romance!

📆 300-word abstracts to be submitted by 31st May 2026 to Atlanta Tsiaoukkas (at839@cam.ac.uk).

🔗 Find all the information on our website: www.jprstudies.org/submissions/...

Do you listen to podcasts about romance novels? One of the romance scholars (Dr. Precie A. Schroyer) is inviting you to take part in a research study: forms.office.com/pages/respon...

February is Black History Month, so we wanted to highlight an article from our 2022 Special Issue "Black Romance". Follow the link to read "Against Odds: Beverly Jenkins’ Indigo and Black Historical Romance" by Margo Hendricks (@elysabethgrace.bsky.social): doi.org/10.70138/DZP...

#RomanceResearch

It was an absolute privilege to work with these wonderful scholars. I hope that people enjoy this special issue on YA and series and romance!

The start of 2026 in JPRS is marked by the publication of Amy Burge's (@dramyburge.bsky.social) Editor's Note for Volume 14 ✨. Follow the link to read our Executive Editor's review of last year's publications: doi.org/10.70138/ZFX...

#RomanceResearch

A poster for 'Falling in Love with Love: A History of Popular Romance: An Online Course' including front covers from the following books: Fantomina by Eliza Haywood, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Sheik by E M Hull, The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer, Tabitha in Moonlight by Betty Neels, Indigo by Beverley Jenkins, Hen Fever by Olivia Waite, The Isle of the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri

I'm running a popular romance course at the University of Liverpool... but only if enough people sign up!

Come and join us!

www.liverpool.ac.uk/continuing-e...

This article may be of interest to our readers!

JPRS 2025 Wrapped! 🎆 Today marks the end of an exciting year for the Journal of Popular Romance Studies: we've published 5 articles, 1 Special Issue, 4 pieces in the Notes and Queries section, and 6 book reviews. Thank you to all authors and readers! We'll see you in 2026 for more #RomanceResearch.

Jeff Fields McCormack (@jfmauthor.bsky.social) reviews the volume "Young Adult Gothic Fiction: Monstrous Selves / Monstrous Others", edited by Michelle J. Smith and Kristine Moruzi: doi.org/10.70138/NSV...

#RomanceResearch

Carly Bennett reviews Derritt Mason's book "Queer Anxieties of Young Adult Literature and Culture": doi.org/10.70138/NZG...

#RomanceResearch

Pavlína Studená reviews Cristina Herrera's book "ChicaNerds in Chicana Young Adult Literature: Brown and Nerdy" (2020): doi.org/10.70138/SEX...

#RomanceResearch

To accompany this Special Issue, three new book reviews about YA literature have been published in JPRS. Keep reading to find out more about them:

Amber Moore and Kaye Hare keep the focus on Nancy Drew and close this Special Issue with their article "Romance, Eroticism, and Intimacy in a Work of Nancy Drew Fanfiction: Cross-Reading Personal Pedagogies and Literacies": doi.org/10.70138/ORZ...

#RomanceResearch

Andrea Braithwaite's (@ahbraithwaite.bsky.social) article, "You Go, Girl! Nancy Drew in the Girl Power Era", explores how this popular character has been adpated to the shifting terrain of postfeminist popular culture: doi.org/10.70138/ZUU...

#RomanceResearch

Tharini Viswanath and Nithya Sivashankar tackle adolescent romantic subjectivity in “'I’d really, really like a boyfriend': A Narratological Examination of Adolescence, Ideology, and Subjectivity in Indian and Indian American YA Netflix Romances": doi.org/10.70138/YRR...

#RomanceResearch

Christian M. Hines' article, "Main Character Energy: Black Girls Getting the Love They Deserve in Elise Bryant’s Young Adult Novels", focuses on Black Young Adult (YA) romance: doi.org/10.70138/ZOK...

#RomanceResearch

Jessica Caravaggio analyzes the soulmate trope in the ACOTAR series in her article "Together Forever: Heterodestiny and the Soulmate Trope in Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses Series": doi.org/10.70138/KRY...

#RomanceResearch

“Leading dual lives, even literarily”: Voice, Visibility, and Ghostwriting in the Sweet Valley Franchise | Journal of Popular Romance Studies Introduction Authorship is a profession in flux. Ranging from the anonymous and attributed, individual and collective, or even mythical writers of ancient and medieval periods, to the idealised author...

Melanie Ramdarshan Bold (@drmrb.bsky.social) and Nora Slonimsky (@noraslonimsky.bsky.social) write about the Sweet Valley Franchise in their article "'Leading dual lives, even literarily': Voice, Visibility, and Ghostwriting in the Sweet Valley Franchise": doi.org/10.70138/HCI...

#RomanceResearch

🚨 A new Special Issue has been published today! The volume "(Un)defined YA / Series / Romance" features an introduction by Amanda K. Allen (@amandaallenphd.bsky.social) and six research articles. Follow the link and keep reading to discover them: www.jprstudies.org/special-issu...

#RomanceResearch

🚨 A new book review has been published in JPRS!

Qurratulaen Liaqat reviews Javaria Farooqui's (@javariafarooqui.bsky.social) book "Romance Fandom in 21st-Century Pakistan: Reading the Regency". Follow the link to read it: doi.org/10.70138/FRC...

#RomanceResearch

🚨 New article alert!

Follow the link to read "The Debasement of Love and its Cure in Romance: Psychoanalysis and Healing Through Feminization in Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels", an article by Noam Raveh: doi.org/10.70138/XLC...

#RomanceResearch

Question for any romance novel history people out there: does anyone know who might have been the first romance author to write/publish strict dual POV, ie: in equally distributed, alternating chapters? (Or, first-ish, I know tracking firstness in literature is complicated)

Feel free to RT/boost

This CfP may be of interest to some of our readers:

🚨 Just one week left to send in abstracts for the Special Issue "Romancing the Posthuman". Don't miss the chance!