The official data collection period for the Summer of Romance (aka #loveyourshelfie) is fast approaching! 1 December 2016 – 1 March 2017. We’ve been promoting the project via social media – and have been delighted by the interest and enthusiasm. A number of people have recommended (and offered to help with) non-digital promotion strategies, so here is a downloadable poster: Summer of Romance poster
Please feel welcome to print and display!
The research team is working hard to spread the word about the Summer of Romance. Data collection begins on December 1 (in just two weeks)! The project was announced on radio on Tuesday when Jodi was interviewed by Melanie Tait on Evenings, 936 ABC Hobart. Jodi talks about the history of Mills & Boon, reads a passage from Melanie Milburne’s The Most Scandalous Ravensdale, explains the goals of our project, and asks for recommendations of Mills & Boon Sexy novels set in Hobart! You can listen here until Tuesday 22 November (Jodi’s interview is at the very beginning of the program).
Lisa snapped a set of shelfies at Target in central Melbourne yesterday. It took just a few minutes to find two of The 50 Books on the Mills & Boon shelves: Marion Lennox’s Stepping into the Prince’s World and the Bachelorette edition of Barbara Hannay’s Claiming the Cattleman’s Heart.
Welcome to the Summer of Romance!
This summer, a team of researchers from the University of Tasmania are working on a project tracking novels by Harlequin Mills & Boon. Specifically, we want to find out what happens to them after they’re published.
We’ve got a list of fifty books by Australian authors that we’re tracking between December 1, 2016 and February 28, 2017. If you see one of these books, take a photo of it where you found it and then post it to one of our social media accounts, along with a quick description of where it was. If you post to Twitter or Instagram, make sure you hashtag your pic #loveyourshelfie. If you post to Facebook, post it to the Summer of Romance Facebook page.
You can participate as many times as you like. Maybe you stumble across one of these books randomly! Maybe you want to try and track down all fifty! Just don’t forget to let us know if you find one of these books – and tell us about where you found it!
The shelfie on this blog post was taken by Lisa at Swan’s Moonah Bookshop in Tasmania. Zoom in top left and you’ll see Carol Marinelli‘s The Socialite’s Secret, one of our 50 books!
Summer of Romance 