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. In this episode 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.

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Featuring

Jayashree Kamble; professor of English Literature at La Guardia Community College
Reagan Jackson; co-executive director, Young Women Empowered, also a romance reader and fan
Contance Grady; Senior Culture Reporter for Vox
Elise Staples, member of a romance reading book club through meetup.com

Making Contact Team

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

Music:

Johnny Ripper - Overout
Johnny Ripper - Sfhk (mental breakdown)
Johnny Ripper - Untitled (waking up)
Johnny Ripper - In a Dream
Dance of the Seahorse - Gideon Freudman
Pictures of the Floating World - Waves
Bio Unit - Subterannean
Ketsa - you asked

Learn More:

Making Contact is a 29-minute weekly program committed to investigative journalism and in-depth critical analysis that goes beyond the breaking news. On the web at www.radioproject.org.

The Agony and the Ecstasy: Race and the Future of the Love Story Part 1