In conversations at the Philadelphia
Writers Conference this weekend I learned of the common belief that “genre”
only exist so booksellers will know where to shelve books. However, I think that genre labels serve a
purpose for readers, helping them to select their next book based on their own
tastes.
When we established Intrigue
Publishing we decided to narrow our focus more than most small presses. We would publish only genre fiction, and only
four specific genres at that. However,
over the last two years we have found it challenging to define the books we
want to publish. It’s even more
challenging when you consider all the sub-genre books can fall into.
For example, one of our four genres
is crime fiction. That encompasses
thrillers and mysteries. But thrillers
can be international, or political. They can be military or spy thrillers,
action/adventure books, caper stories, or novels of suspense that can sometimes
border on horror. Similarly, mysteries
can be noir, hard boiled, police procedurals, or cozy (excuse me, I mean
traditional mysteries.) We love them
all.
We also publish Young Adult (YA)
fiction. I believe YA to be an audience
rather than a genre, and those young readers enjoy EVERY kind of fiction. We’ve published Y-As that could be classified
as science fiction, fantasy or espionage thrillers, but a coming-of-age story
would fit us too.
We’ve been looking for sensual
romance books, but keep getting erotica.
Not the same thing, people. Keep
it romantic. A lot of paranormal writers
like Sherrilyn Kenyon hit the right spot.
So do Jude Devereaux and Amanda Quick.
And then there’s urban drama. We’ve learned that when most people see
“urban” they think “African American” which was not our intent. No "street lit" please. And contemporary drama tends to bring in chick-lit
and we are NOT looking for Nicholas Sparks. Our first example is
B. Swangin Webster's upcoming "Let Me Just Say This."
Maybe we need a new label for the books we want to publish. So, help us out - not for bookstore
shelving, but to help authors know what to submit to us. How shall we label the
stories we’re looking for? We want fiction with strong characters facing real
life challenges - things that happen every day in American cities. These are
stories of personal struggle and triumph. Help us define this genre, because we
know a lot of women who want to read these books.
