The economics of romance novels

Why the publishing industry is hot for romance

Romance books are currently trending in the publishing industry. That means romance authors are currently seeing greater commercial success than many writers in other genres. This podcast episode dives into what's behind the publishing industry trend from a business perspective. Listen to it here.

The data on romance's recent rise

Romance novels have historically sold well, but since 2022, the genre has seen rapid growth, propelled by popular writers, like Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry, and a devoted readership active on TikTok. This study from statistician Daniel Parris runs through the numbers, demonstrating how the genre has become an industry powerhouse.

A deep dive into the data behind the romance bookstore renaissance

As the literary genre expands, so does the network of romance-specific stores. Romancing the Data keeps track of the rise of romance bookstores across the globe. This article not only shows how quickly the trend is taking off but also explains how brick-and-mortar shops are simply catching up with audience demand.

A scholarly analysis of romance's enduring popularity

Diane Winston, a media scholar at the University of Southern California, argues that romance novels have remained popular because they've historically offered women shame-free ways to explore their identities and sexualities. She notes that's even more true today, with contemporary romance novels, from romantasy bestsellers to "Heated Rivalry," more willingly explore social dynamics.

A detailed analysis of romance novel covers through history

A lot has changed in the romance genre over time, a fact that's clearest in the way that the books are marketed to consumers. This interactive data visualization surveyed decades of romance book jackets, finding that raunchy, realistic paintings of scantily clad models have largely been replaced by vibrantly colored illustrations, often with the characters drawn as cartoons.

Listen to some of romance's leading writers discuss the genre

In this interview from 2022, romance novelists Helen Hoang (author of the "Kiss Quotient" series) and Emily Henry ("Beach Read," "People We Meet on Vacation," and more) discuss both loving and subverting the conventions of the genre.

A guide to the romance genre's major tropes

This guide breaks down romance's most prominent tropes, or narrative patterns, used by romance writers and adored by their fans. After you learn about "friends to lovers," "marriage of convenience," and "forced proximity," you'll start to see your favorite romance reads in an entirely new light.

How Harlequin became the most famous name in romance fiction

The publisher, which began as a modest family operation in 1949 in Winnipeg, took off when it noticed its bestselling titles were romance novels. That success intensified as it began selling its titles in grocery stores during the 1970s. This deep dive explores its meteoric rise and how that would set the stage for the genre for years to come.

An economist answers questions about love

Economists aren't exactly known for their dating advice. But as it turns out, economics experts can offer fresh perspectives to everyday romantic quandaries. On this podcast episode, economist Tim Harford answers listeners’ relationship quandaries, from paying for a first date to alternatives to saying, "I love you." Listen to the episode here.

Fabio's romance novel cover career, by the numbers

In the '70s, '80s, and '90s, the mononymous model Fabio could be found in grocery store aisles across the country, often holding a woman close to his bare chest. This list breaks down the numbers behind his rise to romance royalty, counting total appearances on covers (465), the number of times he was portrayed as a ghost (2), and all the way down to the estimated sales increase his appearance could offer a romance novel (50-60%).

The role stories play in mass economic trends like bitcoin, crashes

Economics is dominated by numbers, but stories play a huge role in the emotional shifts seen within macroeconomic trends. For example, bitcoin is not just a cost-benefit winner, but a compelling tale of decentralization and independence. This is a 20-minute summary of Nobel prize-winning economist Robert Shiller's "Narrative Economics."

The novel broke new ground by offering realistic stories

In this brief interview, Terry Castle, an English professor at Stanford, explains the origins of the early British novel. Castle details how the novel was produced for a newly literate middle class interested in recognizable characters and stories “about life as they knew it” rather than Greek and Roman myths or medieval romances. She also explains why a newly enfranchised female demographic was attracted to the fiction of writers like Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf.

Mass market paperbacks were originally designed to fit in your pocket

These books were supposed to cost no more than a pack of cigarettes and had a huge reach thanks to their affordable price. The pocket-sized paperbacks are now going extinct due to the convenience of downloading reading materials on smartphones and other shifts in the publishing industry.

Nearly a quarter of the US's 451 top-ranked podcasts belong to the true crime genre

Perhaps, Pew Research Center proposes, this popularity stems from the fame of "Serial," the 2014 hit series about a 1999 murder in Baltimore. Politics and government is the second top genre. Outside typical genre divides lie series such as fictional radio stories and Dungeons & Dragons podcasts, which account for 12% of top-ranked podcasts.

The science (and scams) behind essential oils

Essential oils are a big business, with industry estimates pegging its market size at $10B last year—a number expected to double by 2030. These distilled plant compounds have a long history of both legitimate and exaggerated uses, and many marketed oils are, as the author of this long read claims, just selling wish fulfillment. Revisit some of the history and contemporary use of essential oils with this piece.

What is the lipstick index?

The lipstick index is an economic theory that breaks down to this: when consumers think an economic downturn is looming, sales for affordable luxury items (such as lipstick) go up. While it's not an economically proven theory, it's still worth considering. So why do consumers exhibit this behavior? Read more about the lipstick index to find out.

Fiction winners see the most financial gain

The Pulitzer Prize brings prestige, but inconsistent financial benefits. For nonfiction writers, receiving the award does increase sales, but only modestly. The big winners are the fiction writers, some of whom have seen sales double after a win.

How soap operas are being reimagined for the smartphone

Apps like ReelShort, FlickReels, and DramaBox purport to offer "micro dramas," but they strongly resemble soap operas, with serial melodramas about romance and murder. This NPR piece unpacks the trend, highlighting why this new format appeals to demographics that never connected with daytime soaps.

'Freakonomics' celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025

The book 'Freakonomics' arguably changed the business landscape when it came out, and has since evolved into other forms of media and a cultural phenomenon.

The decline in value of the NFL running back

Running backs long held the role of superstar on NFL teams, carrying their team down by down to the endzone. Their salaries reflected that importance as well. But in the last 30 years, front offices and fans have taken more to the quarterback instead, who receives much higher salaries. This podcast episode breaks down the economics of the turn in the game's focus from rushing to passing.

The economics of the WNBA

The 2024 WNBA season shattered attendance and viewership records, thanks in large part to rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The league secured a record 11-year, $2.2B media rights deal. Yet players' salaries are low compared to the NBA. This CNBC video dives into the WNBA’s business model and explores why it may take years before the longest-running women’s sports league becomes profitable.

The matchmakers serving the elite of Silicon Valley

If members of the wealthy elite want to find romance, they often choose expensive match-making services rather than dating apps. These services can cost $150,000 for each match, and providers are experts in dealing with the unique social dynamics caused by being wealthy and the unusual egos such wealth can bring. This article explores this hidden cultural phenomenon.

Radio quiz shows took off in the '40s

The concept took hold during the Great Depression, with 50 shows on the air by 1940, because they allowed families to imagine a financial windfall was just a few questions away. Although the genre had a slight downturn during World War II, it experienced a resurgence by the end of the decade, with 200 shows on the air.

Sushi is an estimated $33B business in the US

US fishermen stock most of the country's more than 17,000 sushi restaurants. Distributors frequently adjust prices for different fish, based on their availability and the quality of the meat. This podcast unpacks how that industry operates.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Reader's Digest ranks the 100 best book of all time

Reader's Digest, first published in 1922 and ultimately becoming the most widely read periodical on the planet, created a list of the 100 best books of all time, compiling a list across genre, period, and form. The list includes classics,...

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US