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Sales of romance novels were up in 2022, while overall book sales hit their first decline in three years proxyminder/Getty Images hide caption

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proxyminder/Getty Images

Sales of romance novels were up in 2022, while overall book sales hit their first decline in three years

proxyminder/Getty Images

Sales of romance novels were up in 2022, with a surge of about 52 percent for sales of print copies, according to Publishers Weekly. That's despite an overall dip in book sales last year.

Still, there's a longstanding social stigma against romance novels, as they're often written off as frivolous, or even shameful.

NPR's Juana Summers visits a group of readers who are loud and proud about their love for the genre.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

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This episode was produced by Elena Burnett and Michael Levitt. It was edited by Sarah Handel and William Troop. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

Northern California
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