Saucy Books, England's first romance-only bookstore, recently opened in Notting Hill, London, becoming a popular gathering place for romance enthusiasts. Despite facing skepticism about the genre, record sales demonstrate the rising demand, with the romance genre significantly contributing to UK fiction revenue reaching over 1 billion in 2024. Founder Sarah Maxwell emphasizes the genre's quality and the inherent sexism that undermines it. The bookstore features a unique 'smut hut' dedicated to reclaiming erotic literature and offers a space for women's voices and experiences in literature to be celebrated.
The popularity of the store speaks for itself; we even had to ticket our first week and give time slots to customers.
There's so much snobbery and bias surrounding the genre. People think it's less than or low quality, which is not true at all.
I think there's an inherent misogyny around it. A lot of the time, the sorts of things that women like across arts and culture tends to get discounted.
These books are about the female perspective and female gaze when most media is through the male gaze.
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