Proposal Title
Romance covers in Brazil: online interactions between fandom and publishing houses
Start Date
14-4-2018 10:20 AM
End Date
14-4-2018 11:20 AM
Proposal Type
Individual Presentation
Abstract
Book covers are very important for romance fandom (RODALE, 2015). They express the stories and the genre through images and design (MCKNIGHT-TRONTZ, 2002) becoming an important factor for the readers when buying a book. But not always the fan is content with the cover. While is possible to observe that sometimes the writer does not have power of decision related to the covers (GREENFELD-BENOVITZ, 2012), it becomes more complicated when the book is published in foreigner countries, depending on contracts between publishers. In Brazil the romance book market is formed by most of international titles and writers translated to Portuguese. Not always the books can have the same cover as the original, so they are adapted or completely changed. However, as Brazilian romance fans follow their favorite writers and know how the original cover was published, they use social network websites to express their opinion and interact with the publishing houses. These companies also have learned the importance of covers to fans and interact with the readers (JENKINS, 2008). Thus, in this presentation I intend to show cases of online interactions on Facebook between fandom and publishers in Brazil that depict two perspectives: first, covers changed after fan complains and, second, publishing houses posting options of cover for fan voting. The collected data on Facebook regards books from Megan Maxwell, J. R. Ward and Leisa Rayven. These interactions present the importance of fandom for the development and establishment of romance book market in Brazil.
Key words: book covers, romance fandom, Brazilian fans, publishing houses, international readers
Works cited
GREENFELD-BENOVITZ, Miriam. The Interactive Romance Community: The Case of “Covers Gone Wild”. In: FRANTS, S. SELINGER, E. (ORGs) New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers: North Carolina, 2012.
JENKINS, Henry. Cultura da Convergência. 2 ed. São Paulo: Aleph, 2008.
MCKNIGHT-TRONTZ, Jennifer. The Look of Love - The Art of the Romance Novel. Princeton Architectural Press: New York, 2002.
RODALE, Maya. Dangerous books for girls: the Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained. Ebooh by Maya Rodale on Amazon, 2015.
Romance covers in Brazil: online interactions between fandom and publishing houses
Book covers are very important for romance fandom (RODALE, 2015). They express the stories and the genre through images and design (MCKNIGHT-TRONTZ, 2002) becoming an important factor for the readers when buying a book. But not always the fan is content with the cover. While is possible to observe that sometimes the writer does not have power of decision related to the covers (GREENFELD-BENOVITZ, 2012), it becomes more complicated when the book is published in foreigner countries, depending on contracts between publishers. In Brazil the romance book market is formed by most of international titles and writers translated to Portuguese. Not always the books can have the same cover as the original, so they are adapted or completely changed. However, as Brazilian romance fans follow their favorite writers and know how the original cover was published, they use social network websites to express their opinion and interact with the publishing houses. These companies also have learned the importance of covers to fans and interact with the readers (JENKINS, 2008). Thus, in this presentation I intend to show cases of online interactions on Facebook between fandom and publishers in Brazil that depict two perspectives: first, covers changed after fan complains and, second, publishing houses posting options of cover for fan voting. The collected data on Facebook regards books from Megan Maxwell, J. R. Ward and Leisa Rayven. These interactions present the importance of fandom for the development and establishment of romance book market in Brazil.
Key words: book covers, romance fandom, Brazilian fans, publishing houses, international readers
Works cited
GREENFELD-BENOVITZ, Miriam. The Interactive Romance Community: The Case of “Covers Gone Wild”. In: FRANTS, S. SELINGER, E. (ORGs) New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers: North Carolina, 2012.
JENKINS, Henry. Cultura da Convergência. 2 ed. São Paulo: Aleph, 2008.
MCKNIGHT-TRONTZ, Jennifer. The Look of Love - The Art of the Romance Novel. Princeton Architectural Press: New York, 2002.
RODALE, Maya. Dangerous books for girls: the Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained. Ebooh by Maya Rodale on Amazon, 2015.