Romance Novel Symposium Duke University

by Julie Tetel Andresen | February 3, 2017 |

Title Image: East Duke Building where the Romance Novel Symposium Duke University will be held on February 14.

On Friday, February 10 from 2:00 – 5:00 I will be moderating “Gender, Sexuality, Feminism and the Romance Novel” held in the first-floor parlors of the East Duke Building on Duke University’s East Campus.

I have invited four well known authors, one of which – namely Ilona Andrews – is a twofer, since they are the husband-wife writing team of Ilona and Gordon Andrews. So there will be five people on the panel.

Here’s my lineup, and it’s pretty terrific:Thanks to Julie Wynmor of the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies for this beautiful poster

These writers tend to write in more than one genre:

Mary Bly is a Shakespearean scholar at Fordham University and the author of Queer Virgins and Virgin Queans on the Early Modern Stage. She also writes both Georgian and Regency romances as Eloisa James.

Ilona Andrews writes both Fantasy in her (their) Innkeeper Chronicles and Urban Fantasy in the Kate Daniels series. The distinction between Fantasy and Urban Fantasy is slight, but still I feel a difference, which may be little more than Fantasy taking place in a rural or suburban setting, while Urban Fantasy takes place in an urb, for instance, Dallas in the Kate Daniels series.

Sarah MacLean writes both Regency romance and Young Adult, where her YA novel The Season is also set in the Regency period.

Alisha Rai is known for contemporary erotica, and she has a growing following. Not an easy genre to write and write well!

Here’s the program for the Romance Novel Symposium Duke University:

2:00 – 2:50 – The authors will talk about themselves individually and their work in terms of their reading and writing autobiographies: what book(s) got them interested in the genres they write, what books inspire them now and how they think their work has changed over the years.

3:00 – 3:50 – Panel Discussion. Topics covered will include what changes the writers see in the current marketplace, what subgenres are hot right now, how gender roles in story lines have changed over the years, and even how the current political climate might affect the authors’ narratives and how they deal with social media.

4:00 – 4:50 – Q&A. The overall topic will be the Life of a Professional Writer: how to manage a writing life, how to negotiate in a (still) gendered industry, how to balance interacting with fans with staying on task, how to stay fresh. However, the audience will determine where the discussion will go.

5:00 – 6:00 – Reception

This event is open to the public. If you’re going to attend, you can RSVP here: https://www.evensi.us/gender-sexuality-feminism-and-the-romance-novel-east-duke/196990185

Romance Novel Symposium Duke University