The popularity of Bookstore Romance Day, which takes place this year on Saturday, August 9, has grown almost as fast as the romance category itself.
Celebrating romance authors and readers, the event was founded by Billie Bloebaum, a bookseller at the Book Nook in Canby, Ore. The first Bookstore Romance Day was held in 2019, when some 150 independent bookstores participated. Since then, even during the pandemic, more and more bookstores have kept the date every August, with the numbers of participating stores increasing every year, to about 550 last year. Some 600 are expected this year.
The stores are primarily in the U.S. but include some in Canada, the U.K., and Australia. The stores have a variety of specialties, and include, of course, many of the fastest-growing type of specialty bookstore: romance bookstores. They account for about 10% of participating stores. The rest are general stores that have connected with customers who love romances. And the participants comprise all kinds of stores: bricks-and-mortar, mobile, pop-up, online, and more, all of which celebrate Bookstore Romance Day in many creative, heartfelt ways. (See story below.)
Besides in-store events, Bookstore Romance Day will include virtual programming that will be set soon. Last year's programming ran the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Bookstore Romance Day, beginning with a Friday Kick-Off Party featuring a panel of five romantasy authors. On the Day itself, panels focused on romance set outside of the U.S. or Western Europe; sports romance; road trip romance; romance with protagonists in STEM; and Queer romance. Sunday's panels focused on "lower-heat" romance; romance featuring protagonists in the arts; and YA romantasy.
There is still time for bookstores to sign up as official Bookstore Romance Day participants, which will allow them to be included on the participating bookstores map. The site also offers marketing and promotional assets, which will be updated soon.
Bookstore Romance Day has a striking origin story. In 2019, as the first Bookstore Romance Day was being planned, Bloebaum said that the idea for the event did not exist until early that year. As recounted by Shelf Awareness, "In March [of 2019], a romance author started a 'bit of a Twitter kerfuffle,' during which she 'got down' on indies for not being romance-friendly. Bloebaum, who is actively engaged with many other booksellers about the romance genre, knew this wasn't the case, and decided it was time for a more public show of support. 'Bookstore Romance Day was an offhand suggestion that took on a life of its own,' recalled Bloebaum."