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It was a day-and-a-half affair including author panels, workshops, fun and games, and a closing gala awarding
It was coordinated by a Black woman who runs a website and YouTube channel focused on romance
Since it was the first time out, there were definitely improvements that could be made, but it
(Did you know that in high school, Brenda Jackson used to write stories on lined paper and
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In the first of what is hopefully going to be a regular thing, six authors were honored
Brenda Jackson is in line to have published 150 romances by 2025
Rochelle Alers’s first novel, Careless Whispers, was published in 1988, and she continues to publish books with
More recently, since the distribution of Kimani authors into other Harlequin lines, she’s explored other writing
Shirley Hailstock’s first novel, Under the Sheets, was published in 1995, and she went on to publish
And Sandra Kitt, who was unfortunately unable to make it to RRAW, was the first to receive
So every time I hear someone reference a brand new author as a paragon of Black romance —
Whenever I see Black readers on social media who have only just made their way into our
They might have sentiments and language that are a thing of their time, and not ours
Though of course, Beverly Jenkins would tell you we’ve been around since Iola Leroy in 1892
As more blogs, social media accounts, and sites like Book Riot(!) have started to encourage, challenge, demand
And it might be worthwhile to say that those Black authors don’t particularly care because they
But in a time where there are more books more widely available than ever, there should be
Sure, there are more authors whose books are coming to the forefront, but that’s still a
So if you’re looking for a Black romance author to try, why not start with the