The papers in this journal edition are drawn from a number of fascinating anddiverse perspectives on the romance genre presented at the inaugural Elizabeth Jolley Conference, Reading and Writing Romance in the 21st Century, held at Curtin University in 2013. As this collection demonstrates, romance can be understood as a genre, a formula, a trope and an incursion. At the heart of the romantic tale lies love, but love also infiltrates all other genres. These papers show romance not only across genres but also across histories, geographies, ethnicities and mediums. In these varied texts, love works to maintain and disrupt normative heterosexual coupling, to constrain and permit feminine desire, to reinforce and resist normative gender roles, and build hegemonic social, political and economic relations. In the popular imagination, love and work are opposing forces, but in romance love works hard. These examinations of the work of love further our understanding of the romance genre in terms of its practices, forms, contexts, pleasures and effects. (Introduction 257)

'After more than a decade as a feminist researcher and teaching women’s studies at tertiary level, I decided to investigate a new direction. Driven in part by the demise of women’s studies in universities – an international phenomenon – and looking for something completely different, I attended my first Romance Writers of Australia conference. To my surprise, the scene was all too familiar: predominantly female participants and presenters, a collaborative leadership model, a supportive atmosphere and lots of purple. In this article I muse upon arguments that romance is a form of feminism. Going back to its history in the Middle Ages and its invention by noblewomen who created the notion of courtly love, examining its contemporary popular explosion and the concurrent rise of popular romance studies in the academy that has emerged in the wake of women’s studies, and positing an empowering female future for the genre, I propose that reading and writing romantic fiction is not only personal escapism, but also political activism. Now also a published romance novelist, I chart my own Harlequin Escape from the ivory tower to the boudoir.' (Publication summary)

'A short story originally published in 1900 by writer and poet Henry Lawson captured the perceived incompatibility of women and life in remote Australia with its refrain that the bush ‘was no place for a woman!’. The suggestion in Lawson’s story is that the bush could easily prove fatal to women and for men it could undo them, mentally and spiritually. Now at the start of the new millennium, many barriers to women living and working in rural Australia have been challenged or removed altogether. Yet, recent sociological research, such as that undertaken by Margaret Alston, argues that gender inequality is an ongoing problem in rural communities. For example, one persistent stereotype is that men undertake the meaningful work in rural life while women watch from the sidelines, simply ‘help’, or see their contribution downplayed or downright ignored. This article explores how a new breed of bestselling novels, variously dubbed ‘chook lit’ or ‘contemporary Australian rural romance’, use a romantic structure to represent gender inequality in a rural setting. The article draws examples from Jillaroo (Rachael Treasure, 2002), The Bark Cutters (Nicole Alexander, 2010) and North Star (Karly Lane, 2011) to show the varying approaches to the romance plot that construct gutsy heroines, depict important rural issues and leave readers with endings that, as in other romances, offer ‘a utopian projection which expresses a critical evaluation of the contemporary patriarchal order’ (Cranny-Francis 1990: 191). This article argues that contemporary Australian rural romances raise questions about the romance plot while critiquing aspects of gender inequality specific to the context. In turn, such novels may encourage and inspire female readers (if they so choose) to do more in rural life than sit on the fence watching the men.' (Publication abstract)

'This article explores how contemporary romance can represent cognitive disability through a critical analysis of the representation of cognitive difference in the romantic comedy Addition by Australian author Toni Jordan. I argue that the novel presents a non-stereotypical representation of a protagonist with a cognitive disability who is still able to participate in a love relationship while experiencing significant impairment. I argue that such works of popular romantic fiction can act to challenge negative stereotypes around mental illness and encourage readers to reflect on their own beliefs and attitudes.' (Publication abstract)

'Climate change has been called the most boring subject the science world has ever had to present. Despite media stunts such as nude lie-ins to draw attention to the issue, recent polls show that the urgency of public opinion in relation to climate change has waned. This article argues that popular culture such as genre fiction can be an important communicative device in responding to climate change. It examines how a climate change theme can be developed in fiction and why romance and, in particular, romantic comedy, may be a suitable genre to make this issue relevant to the reader by connecting a global issue to its local effects. Climate change poses particular challenges to an author. My novel-in-progress, Melt (2013), is used as a case study of how these challenges may be met.' (Publication abstract)