Industry News

SELECTED ITEMS OF INTEREST TO THE MEDIA COMMUNITY

Uncovering the Evolution of Romance Novel Covers

November 9, 2023

An analysis of romance novel cover design shows that the industry has moved from bodice-ripper illustration to a fun and light-hearted style that's currently popular. One result is that readers who might be embarrassed about being fans of romance novels can carry the books without their content being obvious. The trend of using more abstract designs and bright colors is also popular in the covers of other types of fiction. The romance cover review in "The Pudding" substack analyzed more than 1,400 covers featured in Publishers Weekly between 2011 and 2023. It also found that during that time period there was a significant decline in "raunchy" romance novel covers, and a large increase in racially diverse characters depicted in cover designs.

Read more of The Pudding story here.
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