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The Conversation
The Conversation
Jodi McAlister, Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture, Deakin University

Romance bookstores are booming in Australia and worldwide – and fans are lining up for love

United States Australia Big W Walmart Bookish Spice
A Thousand Lives in regional Victoria and Romancing the Novel in Paddington are dedicated to romance. Thousand Lives, Romancing the Novel/Instagram

Once, if you wanted to buy romance novels, you had to know where to look. Some small outlets stocked paperback romances, as well as department stores like Big W in Australia and Walmart in the United States. So did some bookstore chains, but romance wasn’t usually front and centre.

In 2025, things have changed: romance novels are no longer relegated to dark corners. Thanks in part to BookTok and Bookstagram, they’re more visible than ever, with an average growth rate of 49% for three years, according to Nielsen Bookscan figures. Australian romance readers are “propping up a flatlining national book market”, according to journalist Melanie Kembrey.

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