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Romantasy and dark college: Young readers drive new literary trends

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Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1729317046649171101119913220240206-valenzuela-academic-center-14.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Students read books at the Valenzuela City Academic Center for Excellence on February 6, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/file"/><span class="fr-inner"></span></span></span></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;text-align:left">Students read books at the Valenzuela City Academic Center for Excellence on February 6, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/file</p><div></div><p>FRANKFURT, Germany — From romantasy to dark college, legions of young readers are diving into eclectic new literary subgenres in a trend turbo-charged by social media.</p><p>At the Frankfurt Book Fair this week, fans flocked to colorful stands showcasing &quot;new adult&quot; literature that filled an 8,000-square-meter hall.</p><p>The trend has been fuelled by authors and publishers posting on social media, and readers giving feedback, particularly under the hashtag BookTok on TikTok.</p><p>&quot;New adult brought me back to reading,&quot; Julia Kendall, a 30-year-old teacher, told AFP at the book fair, the world&#x27;s largest.</p><p>&quot;I didn&#x27;t read at all for a while, then I held my first book by Mona Kasten in my hand and loved it,&quot; she said, referring to a popular German author of romantasy — a neologism of romance and fantasy.</p><p>New adult literature is generally aimed at readers aged 18 to 25, and usually contains more mature themes, such as explicit scenes or drug use, that could be considered off-limits for younger audiences.</p><p>Some authors have taken on a near rockstar status, with legions of fans who will queue for hours at events to meet them and get autographs.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/21/non-school-book-readership-declines-among-filipinos-survey-shows-1647">READ: Non-school book readership declines among Filipinos, survey shows</a></div><div><strong>Breaking boundaries</strong></div><p>One such popular author is Jane S. Wonda, who has written hit &quot;dark romance&quot; books that fuse elements of traditional romance with eroticism and darker subjects such as violence or drugs.</p><p>The 33-year-old, who is self-published, told AFP she believed her works &quot;break boundaries&quot; and represent a shift away from social &quot;over-correctness... towards something more morally grey&quot;.</p><p>For Wonda, her readers are &quot;very close&quot; and their responses — particularly on social media — influence her writing.</p><p>&quot;I pay a lot of attention to what feedback readers give to me: So, what do they write to me in messages? What do they respond to the most?&quot;</p><p>Astrid Ohletz, who runs the Germany-based independent publisher Ylva, which focuses on lesbian romance books, said the social media-driven buying behaviour of young adult readers was &quot;changing the industry&quot;.</p><p>&quot;The big publishers are conservative. They know that they need to change — but they really don&#x27;t like it,&quot; she said.</p><p>Ohletz established her own relatively small outfit 12 years ago and sells mainly ebooks, in German and in English, in her domestic market and overseas.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/9/11/locally-produced-books-with-decodable-text-launched-to-help-address-reading-crisis-2113">RELATED: Locally produced books with decodable text launched to help address &#x27;reading crisis&#x27;</a></div><div><strong>&#x27;Reading fever&#x27;</strong></div><p>Splashy appearance and style are key in &quot;new adult&quot; literature.</p><p>Readers want attractive books that will stand out on social media, with publishers striving to produce ever more elaborate covers.</p><p>&quot;For a lot of new adult readers, the book is more than just reading material,&quot; said Jeannette Bauroth at Second Chances, a publisher that translates books into German that she feels have been passed over by the local market.</p><p>Many want &quot;pretty books&quot; to take so-called &quot;shelfies&quot; — snaps of their book shelves that they post on social media, she said.</p><p>Bauroth gave the example of a series of books they published in the &quot;queer sports romance&quot; subgenre with the edge of the pages sprayed with colorful patterns.</p><p>But there are concerns in some quarters that the new adult genres &quot;dumb down&quot; literature and encourage young readers toward less serious works.</p><p>Some romance books have also faced criticism for being too dark, especially when it comes to how they portray relationships.</p><p>&quot;I wish that some of the books were more healthy in their relationships,&quot; Ohletz said. &quot;I don&#x27;t get why they have a tendency to be a bit misogynistic.&quot;</p><p>However she and many other industry figures at the book fair were broadly positive about a trend they believe is encouraging more young people to pick up books.</p><p>Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, chairwoman of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, said there was &quot;an absolute reading fever&quot; among younger adults.</p><p>&quot;They are finding an impulse for reading online... This generation moves naturally between analogue and digital,&quot; she said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div>

<p>From romantasy to dark college, legions of young readers are diving into eclectic new literary subgenres in a trend turbo-charged by social media.</p>

From romantasy to dark college, legions of young readers are diving into eclectic new literary subgenres in a trend turbo-charged by social media.