Tracking #loveyourshelfie: Harlequin Mills & Boon Novels as Objects in Twenty-First-Century Australia

What happens to paperback category romance novels after they are sold?

This summer (1 December 2016 – 1 March 2017) we are conducting a pilot research project to investigate the lives and afterlives of Harlequin Mills & Boon (HM&B) novels by Australian authors in the twenty-first century.

Our aim is to build knowledge about how and where print editions of HM&B novels circulate after their publication, and to consider how this relates to developments in digital and online literary culture.

We have selected 50 novels by Australian authors published between 1996 and 2016, and – from 1 December 2016 – we’re asking social media users to help us find them.

How to participate:

  1. Find one (or more!) of the 50 novels
  2. Photograph it where you find it
  3. Share your photo on The Summer of Romance Facebook page, OR on Instagram or Twitter with hashtag #loveyourshelfie
  4. When you share your shelfie, tell us where you found the book
  5. Stay involved over the Summer of Romance by following us on Twitter and Instagram @shelfiesummer or by liking The Summer of Romance Facebook page

Happy book-hunting!

Lisa, Jodi, Kurt & Kathleen