The Recession and Its Effect on the Romance Genre

In this thesis I will delve into the reasons for the continued success of the romance genre in the midst of difficult economic times. I hope to show that this genre is growing in sales and popularity by looking at the success of romance novels, and how publishing companies, such as Dorchester, are adapting to new publishing technology, including e- books and the Kindle. By looking at the measures that romance publishers, especially Dorchester, are taking to successfully blur the boundaries between romance and other genres to increase readership and ensure steady growth by opening up the eyes of loyal romance readers to various subgenres and introducing non-romance readers to genres within romance they never considered before, I hope to examine the vast publishing possibilities of the romance genre and its continuing positive success. (2-3)