Thread by @sparkjoyromance

It's time for our weekly roundup of tweets from or about BIPOC, LGBTQIAP+, and/or otherwise underrepresented writers, reviewers, and list curators. If you don't already, please follow these accounts and be sure to always retweet the original post. #RomanceSparksJoy #RSJRoundUp

First, a little news of our own.

https://twitter.com/sparkjoyromance/status/1163095683081101312?s=19

Now get comfy. We've got a lot to cover this week.

[Gif: three dogs wrapped in blankets]

Life comes at you fast in Romancelandia. On August 12, Jack Publishing announced they had hired known racist Sue Grimshaw as editor-at-large. On August 17, they announced that they had parted ways with Grimshaw with no acknowledgment of her racism.

https://twitter.com/RhondaMerwarth/status/1162740720211570688?s=20

In the interim, one author made the claim that romance isn’t political, and Laura Vivanco responded with academic receipts.

https://twitter.com/DrLauraVivanco/status/1162540728339390464?s=20

And Mel broke down how deeply embedded racism is in the economics of publishing.

https://twitter.com/mel_thegreat/status/1160999256724926464

This week, we saw a continuation of the disturbing trend of big five publishers claiming trailblazer status for recent titles.

https://twitter.com/kaytaylorrea/status/1161391332276834304?s=19

Sidenote: Queerness is not a trope, but tropes belong in queer romance.

https://twitter.com/beccasbookrealm/status/1160358364657754113

And another submission to the never-ending list of authors writing outside their experience. Mel took some time to educate people on the nuance of marginalized identities and the importance of sensitivity readers (and staying in your lane).

https://twitter.com/mel_thegreat/status/1162042319052263424?s=20

https://twitter.com/mel_thegreat/status/1162065390597316608?s=19

Be sure to click on Mel's Ko-Fi at the end of either thread. She puts a lot of emotional labor into educating people.

LaQuette breaks down writing outside your experience with a useful analogy.

https://twitter.com/LaQuetteWrites/status/1162140854796148736?s=19

She also has a few recommendations for actual Haitian romance writers.

https://twitter.com/LaQuetteWrites/status/1162100926754238464?s=19

To delve deeper, listen to these recordings of RWA panels on the subject.

https://twitter.com/Zoe_Archer/status/1162214229153202183?s=19

Also, RWA has approved the proposed changes to the RITA judging process that will include training judges about implicit bias. kirkusreviews.com/features/chang…

Do you need something beautiful in your eyeballs now? Sil asked people to share their favorite non-illustrated covers and, as always, Romancelandians delivered.

https://twitter.com/thebookvoyagers/status/1161794385652125696?s=20

Speaking of covers, Omniverse Press is giving away cover design services to five romance, sci-fi/fantasy, or YA authors who are trans and/or POC. Is that you? You should enter!

https://twitter.com/omniversepress/status/1162024442144468992?s=19

One of the reasons we decided to focus our directory on authors is that there are already so many great resources of diverse books, such as @BawdyBookworms’ Diverse Romance Press List.

https://twitter.com/thienkim/status/1161687314634084353

And of course WOC in Romance’s weekly list.

https://twitter.com/WOCInRomance/status/1162793730509701120?s=20

As well as Girl, Have You Read’s.

https://twitter.com/GirlHaveYouRead/status/1161638605212782595?s=20

And a new resource from Steph.

https://twitter.com/stef_uncensored/status/1162080143671726081?s=21

In addition to putting together the weekly releases for WOC in Romance, Rebekah started a thread of old and new faves by authors of color.

https://twitter.com/RdotSpoon/status/1162101939582062593?s=19

(If you have recs for other weekly lists we should be sharing, please let us know!)

We had our reader discussion of KNIT ONE, GIRL TWO on Thursday. If you missed it, check out #RSJKnitOneGIrlTwo. We will be hosting a Q&A with author Shira Glassman on August 29 at 8:00 p.m EDT.

[Gif: little girl mopping sweat off her brow]

We hope you have a week filled with books and joy and all the good things! And if we have missed anything important, please let us know. Our DMs are open. You can also submit anonymous feedback at bit.ly/RSJfeedback #RomanceSparksJoy #RSJRoundUp

If you appreciate the work we do, please consider buying us a ko-fi to help fund our giveaways of romances by underrepresented authors. ko-fi.com/romancesparksj…