Romantic fiction writers creating a more diverse happily ever after

How book-loving communities on social media are helping authors break barriers to become bestsellers

Talia Hibbert was rewatching a Spider-Man film and eating a meal in her living room when she received life-changing news. Her romance novel Act Your Age, Eve Brown, which she wrote at the beginning of the pandemic, had entered the New York Times bestseller list.

The lighthearted romantic comedy, published this year, follows the escapades of a young black British woman who crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner.