What's Behind Canada's Romance Book Boom? | The Rundown

Romance novels have become one of Canada's fastest-growing publishing genres, with print sales soaring, ebook readership growing, and dedicated romance bookstores opening across the country, raising questions about what's fueling the boom. Amy Lea, author of romantic comedies including "The Bodyguard Affair," joins Jeyan to discuss how shifting reader tastes have created new opportunities for Canadian voices in romance and why she now feels more confident setting stories closer to home. Then, Kaitlynd Carmichael of Indigo Canada and Kearston Bergeron, co-owner of Toronto's Hopeless Romantic Books, explore the factors behind romance's rapid rise and what its growing popularity reveals about today's readers. 00:00 Intro 01:26 Why Canadian Love Stories Resonate with Readers 02:20 Ottawa as a Romance Novel Setting 03:31 Politics, Public Service, and Writing Romance 04:23 Why Amy Lea Started Writing Canadian Stories 05:21 Canadianisms, Publishers, and Cultural Details 06:03 The Rise of Hockey Romance 07:19 How Northern Ontario Shapes Character and Story 08:46 From "Guilty Pleasure" to Mainstream Genre 10:39 Romance, Identity, and Belonging in Canada 11:46 Romance Sales Surge Across Canada 12:24 Why Canadian Authors Are Having a Moment 13:45 Romance Tourism: Visiting PEI and Beyond 15:25 How TikTok and BookTok Changed Romance Publishing 16:41 The Business of Romance: A Top-Selling Genre 17:19 Inside Toronto's Romance-Only Bookstore 20:14 BookTok, Retail Trends, and Finding Bestsellers 21:51 How TV Adaptations Like Heated Rivalry Drive Book Sales 24:08 The Next Big Romance Adaptations to Watch 25:13 Romance Readers, Community, and the End of Stigma 27:44 Season Finale and Thank You From The Rundown About The Rundown: The Rundown is your nightly half-hour deep dive into just one headline. With host Jeyan Jeganathan, we’ll cover everything from housing and health care to climate and AI. We’ll break down why each topic matters, who’s living it, and what’s being done to make things better – starting right here in Ontario. Slow down. Tune in. Make sense of the moment. And tell us what you think. Follow on social media: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/therundowntvo Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TheRundownTVO X- https://twitter.com/therundowntvo Bluesky- https://bsky.app/profile/therundowntvo.bsky.social Subscribe to TVO Today to watch more content like this: https://www.youtube.com/@tvotoday Listen to the podcast: https://www.tvo.org/podcasts/the-rundown-audio Check out the rest of the TVO ecosystem TVO Docs - https://www.youtube.com/@tvo TVO Kids - https://www.youtube.com/@TVOkids TVO Learn - https://www.youtube.com/@tvolearn Download the TVO Today App Apple - https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/tvo-today/id1616182112 Available on: Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire TV Enjoying this content and want to make a meaningful impact? Consider donating today! https://support.tvo.org/site/Donation2?mfc_pref=T&idb=599945504&df_id=16843&16843.donation=form1&DONATION_LEVEL_ID_SELECTED=1661&mfc_pref=T