What is Bookstore Romance Day?

Bookstore Romance Day, which will be celebrated on August 21-22, is a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers—and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the Romance community. It is celebrated annually, and 2021 is the third annual celebration.

The focus of this year’s Romance celebration is crossover fiction. Authors Donna Herren and Bree Bridges, who write the Merceneray Librarians series under the name Kit Rocha, are serving as this year’s Bookstore Romance Day Ambassador. At 2 p.m. Central time on Saturday they will be in conversation with Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, who write together under the name Christina Lauren (details in the schedule below).

All events are free, but space is limited and the events are ticketed. Readers who register for the panels A Little Bit Gothic; Double Your Fun with Cross-Genre Romance; Ghouls, Golems, and Giggles; and Historical Mystery, with Love, will be entered to win a collection of books from St. Martin’s Press!

Learn more about Bookstore Romance Day here.

Shop the Virtual Book Fair
Purchase a BRD Mystery Box
Purchase Exclusive BRD Candles from Hardin Soy Candles!
Check Out the Panel We're Hosting Sunday, August 22

We are really excited to host the High Stakes/High Emotions panel on Sunday, August 22 at 1PM Central! Owner Candice Huber will moderate the panel, which will feature authors Sharon Lynn Fisher (The Warrior Poet), Everina Maxwell (Winter’s Orbit), Jessie Mihalik (Chaos Reigning), and Elizabeth Lim (Six Crimson Cranes) exploring the risks and rewards of falling in love while you’re trying to save the realm/world/galaxy. Register for the panel here.

For Bookstore Romance Day, we’re introducing our new line of literary soy candles from Hardin Soy Candles! These candles are lovingly made by fellow bookstore owner Stacy Hardin.

Three candles are premiering for Bookstore Romance Day on Saturday, August 21: Fantasy Romance, Contemporary Rom-Com, and Historical Romance. These candles are Bookstore Romance Day exclusives! Click on the image above or the button below to browse the candles.

Virtual Event Schedule

Saturday, August 21

*All Times Listed are CST. Please note that some events require registration, although all events are free.

Time

9:00AM

10:00AM

11:00AM

12:00PM

1:00PM

2:00PM

3:00PM

4:00PM

5:00PM

6:00PM

7:00PM

Event

Wake Up to Harlequin Women’s Fiction with Sarah Morgan (The Summer Seekers), JoAnn Ross (Herons Landing), RaeAnne Thayne (The Path to Sunshine Cove). Registration Required 

DANGER! BANG! with authors Sarah MacLean (Bombshell: A Hell’s Bells Novel), Adriana Anders (Uncharted), Nana Malone (Royal Line), KJ Charles (Subtle Blood) and moderator Jen Prokop. Registration Required 

A Little Bit Gothic with Susanna Kearsley (The Vanished Days), Diana Billier (The Brightest Star in Paris), Leanna Renee Hieber (A Summoning of Souls), and Laura Joh Rowland (Portrait of Peril: A Victorian Mystery). Moderated by Emily Kelly of Third Street Books. Registration Required. 

Double Your Fun with Cross-Genre Romance! Romance + SFF with Jeffe Kennedy (The Promised Queen), Amanda Bouchet (Starbreaker), Jennifer Estep (Capture the Crown), Grace Draven (Dragon Unleashed), and Darynda Jones (A Good Day for Chardonnay). Registration Required 

Spill the Afternoon Tea with EL James (Freed) in dishy conversation with authors Sandra Kitt (Winner Takes All), Susanna Kearsley (The Vanished Days), Scarlett St. Clair (A Touch of Darkness) and Annika Sharma (Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words). Registration Required 

Ambassador Kit Rocha (The Devil You Know) in conversation with Christina Lauren (The Soulmate Equation). Registration Required 

Ghouls, Golems, & Giggles with authors Gwenda Bond (Not Your Average Hot Guy), Gail Carriger (Reticence), Angela Quarles (Some Like it Plaid), and Sarah Kuhn (Hollywood Heroine) Moderated by Annie Carl of The Neverending Bookshop. Registration Required  

Love Is Queer with authors Olivia Waite (The Hellion’s Waltz), Adriana Herrera (American Love Story), Cat Sebastian (The Queer Principles of Kit Webb), and Roan Parrish (Best Laid Plans). Moderated by Shane P. Mullen of Left Bank Books. Registration Required 

Historical Mystery, With Love with authors Tasha Alexander (The Dark Heart of Florence: A Lady Emily Mystery), Y.S. Lee (The Agency: Rivals in the City), Deanna Raybourn (An Unexpected Peril), and Sherry Thomas (Miss Moriarty, I Presume?). Moderated by BrocheAroe Fabian, owner of River Dog Book Company. Registration Required 

Harlequin Happy Hour with authors Marcella Bell (The Wildest Ride), Audrey Carlan (To Catch A Dream), Sheila Roberts (Sunset on Moonlight Beach: A Moonlight Harbor Novel), and Maisey Yates (The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass). Registration Required 

BRD After Dark with Xio Axelrod (The Girl with Stars in Her Eyesand Friends: Naima Simone (The Road to Rose Bend), Ann Aguirre (Witch Please), Robin Covington (Taking on the Billionaire), Kristen Callihan (Make it Sweet). Registration Required

Sunday, August 22

*All Times Listed are CST. Please note that some events require registration, although all events are free.

Time

11:00AM

12:00PM

1:00PM

2:00PM

3:00PM

Event

Small Town Romance with Harlequin authors Michelle Major (Wildflower Season), Lee Tobin McClain (Home to the Harbor), Naima Simone (The Road to Rose Bend), and Jo McNally (Love Blooms). Registration Required  

Soap Opera Drama with Harlequin with authors Hudson Lin (Hard Sell), Angelina M. Lopez (Serving Sin), Mona Shroff (Then There Was You), and Synithia Williams (Careless Whispers). Registration Required 

High Stakes/High Emotions with authors Sharon Lynn Fisher (The Warrior Poet), Everina Maxwell (Winter’s Orbit), Jessie Mihalik (Chaos Reigning), and Elizabeth Lim (Six Crimson Cranes). Moderated by Candice Huber, owner of Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Book Shop. Registration Required

YA Romance with Inkyard Press with authors Eric Smith (Don’t Read the Comments), Tashie Bhuiyan (Counting Down with You), Dana L. Davis (Roman and Jewel), Abigail Johnson (Every Other Weekend), and Whitney D. Grandison (The Right Side of Reckless). Registration Required 

I Read YA presents “Book Your Perfect Match” with authors Molly Knox Ostertag (The Girl from the Sea), Brianna Bourne (You & Me at the End of the World), Jay Coles (Things We Couldn’t Say), Debbie Rigaud (Simone Breaks All the Rules) and Leah Johnson (Rise to the Sun). Moderated by Mariana Calderon of Savoy Bookshop and Cafe. Registration Required