Cirrus@Austlit

'Romance fiction has one of the most recognisable brands in book culture. It is known for a handful of attributes: its happy-ever-after endings, the pocket Mills & Boon and Harlequin editions, the covers featuring Fabio (in the 1990s) or naked male torsos (the hot trend in the 21st century). It is known for being overwhelmingly written and read by women, and for being mass-produced.' (Introduction)

'Works of genre fiction are a source of enjoyment, read during cherished leisure time and in incidental moments of relaxation. This original book takes readers inside popular genres of fiction, including crime, fantasy, and romance, to reveal how personal tastes, social connections, and industry knowledge shape genre worlds. Attuned to both the pleasure and the profession of producing genre fiction, the authors investigate contemporary developments in the field—the rise of Amazon, self-publishing platforms, transmedia storytelling, and growing global publishing conglomerates—and show how these interact with older practices, from fan conventions to writers’ groups.

'Sitting at the intersection of literary studies, genre studies, fan studies, and studies of the book and publishing cultures, Genre Worlds considers how contemporary genre fiction is produced and circulated on a global scale. Its authors propose an innovative theoretical framework that unfolds genre fiction’s most compelling characteristics: its connected social, industrial, and textual practices. As they demonstrate, genre fiction books are not merely texts; they are also nodes of social and industrial activity involving the production, dissemination, and reception of the texts.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Telling stories of a better world...

'The Greek krisis means ‘to decide, a point at which a change must come'. In Queensland, the COVID-19 crisis is altering life in ways that were unimaginable even a few weeks ago. While this is undeniably frightening, as writers we also see it as a moment of possibility.

'We want to inspire you to imagine this as a turning point on the way to a better future. Every two weeks, our UQ writers will reveal a new challenge to help you write a postcard from that future to the world. Then we’ll publish some of our favourites here!'

Source: Project website.

'Just when you think we have finally killed off the idea that writers need to retire Coleridge-style to a lonely farmhouse on the moors to get anything done, another writer notes on their acknowledgements page how the work would ‘never have been written’ without the generosity of this or that writers retreat, giving them a break from the world to do their work. But this must be an exaggeration. As much as I love writing retreats, the reality of writing a book is that the work is not done in a two-week uninterrupted block in the mountains: it is done around other paid work and domestic life, daily or weekly, iteratively, over long stretches of time. Writers who publish also grapple with deadlines, editorial direction, and the affordances and limitations of their economic status in the industry. These things impact creative practice. Far from being separable from the social and the material, writing is always inflected by these twin forces.' (Introduction)

'The unthinkable has happened. Warrior queen Bluebell has lost her kingdom to the Crow King, Hakon, and her demented Trimartyr sister, Willow. While Bluebell would like nothing more than to storm the city with her army and crush Willow underfoot, the enemy's threat to burn its inhabitants alive prevents her. Worse, Willow seems to have the terrifying god Maava on her side.

'Bluebell's niece Rowan has otherworldly power and can help her unite the warring tribes, but her third sister Rose is in hiding with her son, and her fourth sister Ivy, Queen of Sæcaster is fleeing abuse with her children. Ash, under-magician, is the only sister who might be able to help Bluebell solve the conundrum. Together they must cross the sea to the land of giants, and try to recover Ash's power and save the kingdom and those they love.

'As the sisters' journeys converge, and the terrifying power of Maava threatens all they hold dear, matters come to a head. To survive they must fight the last battle together, but even with the gods and giants on their side, can they overcome the might of Maava and the unending malice of their errant sister Willow?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The cultural and commercial operations of the publishing industry have been dramatically reshaped by digital technologies, yet little is known about how these effects are differentiated across sectors of the industry. This article analyses data about the production of Australian-authored fantasy, romance and crime fiction titles to explore the specific publishing ecosystems of different genres and the roles played by multinational, small press and self-publishing in each. First, we show that there has been across-the-board growth in each genre and for each type of publisher. Second, we argue that multinational publishing activity in these genres has been characterized by broad stability, punctuated by experimentation with genre-specific imprints for romance and fantasy titles. Third, we find that small presses make diverse contributions to genre ecosystems, able to both activate prestige and experiment with formats. Finally, we note the immense growth in self-publishing, particularly in romance, and argue that self-publishing now operates in tandem with traditional publishing to create hybridized publishing ecosystems - with greater potential to transform the traditional publishing model than e-books.' (Publication abstract)

'This brief introductory essay serves two purposes. The first is to introduce the study of contemporary Australian popular fiction with reference to our wider research on ‘genre worlds’. Using a literary sociological approach that draws on Howard S. Becker’s Art Worlds, our research recognises the multiple dimensionality of popular genres: as bodies of texts, collections of social formations that gather around and produce those texts, and sets of industrial practices with various national and transnational orientations. [...] The second purpose of this essay is to introduce a themed cluster of four essays by Australian researchers, each of whom looks to both Australia and the world for examples of the cultural and commercial functions that contemporary popular fiction can perform.'

Source: paragraph two.

Special edition of Australian Literary Studies, drawing from the research project Genre Worlds: Popular Fiction in the Twenty-First Century.

'Sara Jones has never been like other girls. On the eve of her wedding, she discovers that the supernatural strength she has been hiding her whole life comes from a father she never knew: the Viking god Odin. His interference derails her closest relationships, and Sara starts to long to be among her own kind. She follows Odin’s ravens into the City, where her father has unleashed seven monsters from Asgard as challenges. As she faces the challenges one by one, she finds allies she never expected. And an enemy she could never have predicted.

'Sara is torn between her old life and her longing for something beyond mortal knowledge, and it will take every ounce of her godlike power to save who she loves and become what she longs to be.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.