Why romance is definitely not dead and is it time to X-it? | & meet writer and journalist Lisa Valentine

Latest including Manchester Literary Festival, Romantic Novelist award shortlist, Baillie Gifford non-fiction prize & Georgina Henry journalism award deadline

My fellow wordsmiths,

Hello! Thanks for signing up to Write Reject Repeat and welcome to the fifth edition. I’m so grateful to those of you who have subscribed so far - it means the world. Please spread the word and I’d also love your feedback about the content - for example is it too short, too long, too many mentions of crisps? (sadly, I’m not sponsored by Monster Munch). Meanwhile, there’s something in the air and I’m not just saying that because my full album of wedding photos has finally arrived, posing internal questions like:

1. Why did I think pogo-ing in bare feet while eating cake was a good look?

2. Why is that child wearing the Jimmy Choos that cost more than my actual wedding dress?

3. Is that my 20-something niece taking part in impromptu gymnastics display with the 11-year-olds on the lawn?

Answers are no, no idea and yes - and all caught on camera - albeit with a soft focus.

It’s romance in the air of course. The annual Romantic Novelist Association awards shortlist is out ( I’ve shared the full list - see news section at end of email ), our tame pheasant has a new girlfriend or two and even my esteemed guest writer for the week has romance in her name - literally. Check out my chat with Lisa Valentine, who talks about making her way back to her journalistic aspirations after children and despite rather than because of her working-class education and upbringing. It will resonate with many.

But as I extract myself from my Covid sickbed (wow, the exhaustion is something else) where I had an unprecedented amount of thinking time, I’m talking about the comeback of romance. As an avid, snob-free, reader of absolutely everything, I do love a romance novel and genuinely believe that snobbery against the genre is unfair and dismissive. Writing romance well is bloody hard and efforts to write it back into the narrative in the industry over the past few years have been well overdue. I note Shakespeare doesn't get dismissed for writing Romeo and Juliet but many modern romance authors have had a fight to be included in the mainstream. The breadth of the genre is huge from EL James’ Fifty Shades of Grey (the best-selling trilogy of the last decade in the US which also sold 150m copies worldwide) to the aforementioned Shakespeare - but it’s taken young people on social media to prompt the realisation of its value.

It’s all changing, in some part due to TikTok, where hashtags from #romancereads to #lovestory to #vampireromance to #romanticsuspense are selling books and the industry has been forced to pay attention. Sales of romance and saga fiction in Britain alone have risen by 110 per cent in three years, says The Economist via Nielsen BookData, to £53m ($64m). Meanwhile romance writers are fighting back, with even The Times publishing a piece entitled ‘In the mood for love.’ Now everyone wants a piece of the romance action - even Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton du Beke has written one.

In the strictest academic terms, a romance is a narrative genre in literature that involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, not always a love interest. However, modern definitions of romance also include stories that have a relationship issue as the main focus. (Source: LiteraryTerms.net )

Time to X-it?

Also on my mind this week is wondering if X, formerly Twitter, is worth keeping at all - the exodus is real. What do you think? For many years Twitter was the mainstay for journalists, used for fast communication, story-gathering and building profile. It’s also huge for the author and writing community with hashtags including #amwriting #amquerying and #booktwitter. But since the Elon Musk take-over and subsequent changes it’s become a random, irrelevant, often poisonous, place to be. The blue tick system is now meaningless, it’s impossible to know if anyone is who they say they are - anyone can buy one and most real people do not. Everyone is being served random ads and accounts they don’t want or need but this week’s change to remove headlines on posted articles could well be the end of the road for many journalists, writers and even brands. What a shame as, despite never being as efficient as Facebook for delivering traffic to websites, it was a useful tool on many levels. X in Teeline shorthand means accident - seems appropriate for the car crash formerly know as Twitter.

Time for our weekly chat..

Meet writer and journalist Lisa Valentine

WHO: I’m Lisa Valentine - a Mancunian millennial who grew up reading. I came from a working-class background with little aspirational influence. When I told my careers adviser circa 1996 that I wanted to write for a living, they said, “that’s not for people like you.” I parked that idea for a few decades after that but ultimately, it came back with a vengeance! Away from the words, I have two grown up daughters aged 20 and 23 years old and we live together just outside Greater Manchester. I spend a lot of time checking out new places to eat, local things to do and can often be found walking / running away from the squirrels in Heaton Park. 

Lisa Valentine

WHAT: I want to be able to share my own stories, as well as lifting the voices of others. I’ve always been interested in statistics and how they can show a wider picture. Social affairs is something that I’m keen to work on once I qualify (as a journalist), especially around the topics of housing, domestic abuse and social welfare.

WHERE: I knew early on that words were for me. It started with a childhood diary and evolved to online reviews and web content. In time, I established a decent career in PR & Communications, gaining experience in agency settings, in house and everything in between. I took pride in my achievements but deep down, craved to be on the ‘other side’ of it all. It was only last year that I began to make this a reality.

“I came from a working-class background with little aspirational influence”

Lisa Valentine

 WHY: I can’t imagine doing anything else for a living. It’s one of the few things that keeps me enthused time and time again. When I sit down in front of a blank Word doc, seeing my jumbled ideas slowly take shape brings me joy. I spend a lot of my time consuming media in all forms and am quick to jump on the ever changing landscape. I was an early adopter of TikTok - despite the misconception of it being solely for teenagers who dance - and immediately saw the value of it as a news platform. Anecdotally, most young people I know use it to find new recipes, products and events, preferring it over traditional search engines. 

WHEN: I started as a trainee journalist working toward an NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism with News Associates in October 2023. My exams end in June 2024, which is when my portfolio is due and I’m working towards gaining gold standard. I'm also studying shorthand which should be finished by March 2025. After that, I’m hoping to gain work via local papers to ‘cut my teeth’ before looking at my options in the investigative journalism field. 

HOW: My journey has been turbulent and being able to handle rejection has been paramount. I attended loads of online industry sessions, journalism festivals and events to build up my network and make sure this really was the right step for me.  I initially applied for the BBC Fast track Journalism Apprenticeship Scheme. This felt like the perfect solution as I could learn on the job, gain an NCTJ Diploma and get paid. I started the process in November 2022, went through four rounds of applications, tasks and interviews before getting a rejection email in May 2023. I also got finalised for an apprenticeship with a large media publication but the whole scheme got pulled at the last minute. I gave myself a few days to heal from the brutal rejection, then looked at my options. Keep on swimming and all that. 

What are you reading now?

I’m currently listening to an eAudiobook via the Lancashire Libraries free subscription service - ‘The Social Distance Between Us’ by author Darren McGarvey. It's deep but I'd highly recommend it. 

Thanks Lisa and wishing you success in your investigative journalism ambitions. If you would like to contribute to this feature like Lisa, the format stays the same every week so simply email to nicolakadam@gmail.com ( don’t forget a pic, any book covers, and any key links)

LATEST: News, events, opportunities and awards

Manchester Literature Festival: This event is underway until October 22 and features a series of events in fiction, poetry and the arts at venues across the city. Dozens of names on the bill ranging from DJ turned novelist Annie McManus at Central Library to Jeanette Winterson at HOME.

Georgina Henry Award for Digital Innovation (for female journalists): Now open for submissions, Women In Journalism (WIJ) hold the annual award in memory of the Guardian’s late deputy editor, Georgina Henry, also a former WIJ chair. The £4,000 prize is used to support an initiative by the applicant. Applicants can be any age, working in either print or multimedia and the winner will also join the WiJ committee, and be an honorary WIJ Fellow.

Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction: Hannah Barnes, Tania Branigan, Christopher Clark, Jeremy Eichler, Jennifer Homans and John Vaillant have been announced as the six authors shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2023. The shortlist was revealed by the Chair of judges, Frederick Studemann, live from an event at Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Fantastic Book Awards: Lancashire School Library Service launched its Fantastic Book Awards 2024 at Preston North End Football Club with a visit from acclaimed children's author Phil Earle and the unveiling of the 25 books chosen as contenders for the awards. The competition, which has been up and running for nearly two decades, will see children from over 160 primary schools across Lancashire picking their favourite reads.

Shortlist announced for Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) Industry Awards 2023: The awards have been held for the past nine years and are highly respected in the UK publishing industry with winners announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Winter Party and Industry Awards ceremony in November. The categories and shortlists are:

• The Romantic Bookseller of the Year: Diss Publishing Bookshop; Hungerford Bookshop

• Inclusion Award: Hera Books; Claire Wade

• Indie Champion of the Year: Carrie Elks; Lizzie Lamb

• Library or Librarian of the Year: Ripley Library; Stockton-on-Tees Library

• Cover Designer of the Year: JD Smith; Berni Stevens

• Narrator of the Year: Anne Dover; Susie Riddell

• Media Star of the Year: Fiona Lucas; Babs Wilkie

• Agent of the Year: Lina Langlee; Hannah Schofield

• Editor of the Year: Charlotte Ledger; Sara-Jade Virtue

• Publisher of the Year: Boldwood Books; Joffe Books