You write Romance, You Read Bestsellers

Once upon a time, romance novels were written by authors with such quintessentially Italian pen names that would even have made D'Annunzio recoil with envy (think Liala). Today, the genre is dominated by bestsellers from young female writers whose pseudonyms reveal their international flair. These authors generate vibrant online buzz and top the bookshop charts. This guide to contemporary Italian romance offers a glimpse into the genre through the voices of its leading figures: the "dark princess" Erin Doom, whose Fabbricante di lacrime was Italy's best-selling book of 2022, and the "queen of comedy" Felicia Kingsley, the most widely read author of 2023.