Side Quest: The Inclusive Romance Books Keeper Shelf

Dear Reader,

In dreaming up Love From The True North, it was always my intention to write my book-specific letters as well as personal essays and shorter posts about Romance in general, the industry, and more. Variety is the spice of life.

I had planned that at least one post in the next several months would focus on the systematic racism, and prejudices against the LGBT2Q+ community, built into publishing at large and Romance intrinsically. My idea was to build up my nerve by starting with an extended essay about my love of the Romance genre and let you get to know me a bit better before tackling these serious topics. With attentions both south of the border and here in Canada tuned to passionate, loud, necessary, and late discussions about systematic racism and prejudice – in particular anti-Black racism, but also it’s June (FYI in case you’re reading this later) which is Pride month – I feel that my silence on inclusion has the potential to be  deafening, and devastating. Because, of course you’ve noticed that the publishing world – perhaps especially Romance – is whitewashed and leans towards promoting heterosexual relationships. I said to my editor, the only thing more difficult than compiling an extensive list of Canadian Romance authors is compiling a list of inclusive Canadian Romance authors. Dear Reader, we have the power to push the industry to be inclusive by adjusting our reading habits. We need to build ourselves inclusive keeper shelves.

I am an ally to people of colour and the LGBT2Q+ community.

I am not an authority on prejudice in any context, let alone in literature. I make mistakes. I take ownership for those. I am still listening. I am still learning.

What I have going for me to fuel this post is a wakeup call that took place a few years ago. For almost 20 years I’ve volunteered with a national literary organization. We actively began a transformation to diversify our internal community and ensure that contributors of all aspects of the organization felt welcomed, included; that they belonged. In acknowledging our failures as a group, I was jolted to recognize and take responsibility for my own prejudices. That merely means I have spent a little more time than the average Romance reader listening and educating myself on the destructive, seductive poison that is prejudice in society, but also particularly in publishing.

Here is some of what I’ve learned.

I hear these calls to action for allies of authors, and readers, of colour and/or the LGBT2Q+ community repeated loud and clear:

• Don’t tell their stories for them.
• Make room for them to tell their stories.
• Buy their books, (or borrow from the library), to tell publishers (and assure librarians) that these books are in demand.
• Read their books.
• Review their books: on official review platforms, on your own social media, and recommend them to your BFF.

These are calls that anyone can bring to action today.

Below is a list of resources that have particularly stuck in my mind, and my heart. Several of these are not Romance specific, but I’m adding them because I’m sure that, like me, your world is more than just Romance reading.

Articles/Reading Resources

• For a real-time education on WTF systematic racism, follow the #RWAshitshow hashtag on Twitter. That will take you weeks to go through, and it’s worth the time.
• For a shorter version, the Romance Writers of America professional organization underwent intense scrutiny for incubating systematic racism, and ultimately lost a great deal of respect worldwide. One of the resources that stemmed from that incredible disappointment is Romance Sparks Joy book club.
• In my quest to identify Black Canadian Romance authors, I came across this gem from Chatelaine by Alicia Cox Thomson “Why Are Romance Novels So White?”
• “Fifty Shades of White: The Long Fight Against Racism In Romance Novels” by Lois Beckett published in The Guardian is incredible. Settle in, it’s a long read.
• Rosanna Leo authored “#WeTheNorth: Canadian Romance Authors You Need To Know” on Frolic and includes a link to her original Twitter ask so you have access to an even longer, inclusive list.
• This article on the Google map created by Rocky Mountain Book publisher Don Gorman showing us where Black-owned book stores live so we can easily support them, as reported by CBC.

Educational Books

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo – I’m working my way through this slowly. It’s hard to read because of all the truth bombs, and that’s how I know I should be reading it. That, and it’s been recommended repeatedly by people of colour who speak out against racism and prejudice.

One more note before we carry on: I’ve also included as resources categories for Social Media, Authors and Shows/Movies I tuned into for the entertainment factor that also demonstrate solid ally qualities or have taught me about cultures and communities that aren’t my own. Not that one should take something they saw in a TV show as a whole truth, but by regularly consuming inclusive entertainment, it normalizes what a good chunk of North Americans still consider “weird” or “different” or “not normal” or worse. In my opinion, Schitt’s Creek is the best demonstration of what normal really is.

Accounts I Follow On Social Media

(I’ll let you look each up on your favourite platform):

• Beverly Jenkins, Romance Author
• Tracy Moore, Host of CityLine
• Tracy Peart: Makeup Artist
• Christian Siriano: Fashion Designer
• Julia Quinn, Romance Author
• P!nk, Recording Artist
• Lin-Manual Miranda, Actor and Creator of musical Hamilton
• Meanwhile in Canada
• Cassandra Clare, YA Fantasy Author
• Jewel Staite, Actor
• Michael Ausiello, Entertainment Writer
• Bob the Drag Queen, Drag Queen
• Latrice Royale, Drag Queen

Authors I’ve Read And Recommend

• Beverly Jenkins
• Talia Hibbert
• Nalini Singh
• Rebekah Weatherspoon
• Farrah Rochon
• Alyssa Cole
• Helen Hoang

I’m embarrassed by how short this list is. Please send rec’s my way! I’ve got books by Jackie Lau and Farah Heron on deck.

Shows/Movies

• RuPaul’s Drag Race
• Loving
• Always Be My Maybe
• To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
• Crazy Rich Asians
• Girls Trip
• Schitt’s Creek
• Dumplin’
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Grace and Frankie
• Dancing Queen

This is just a small and highly personalized sample of what you can look for in supporting an inclusive state of mind. In crafting this post I hoped that it provides even one resource to help anyone searching for ways to be an ally to people of colour and the LGBT2Q+ community. I hope that it inspires someone, even just one person, to actively seek out Romance novels that are by and include people of colour and the LGBT2Q+ community.

May your keeper shelf grow exponentially, Dear Reader.

Nalini Singh’s work alone; I’m gonna need a bigger house!

Love From,
The True North

P.S. This is the part of my letter where I invite you to buy me a ko-fi to support my content creation. But I’d rather you spend some dollars on adding a new inclusive book to your keeper shelf after you’ve read this letter, so happy book shopping Dear Reader! Come back and let me know what you chose in the comments sometime.