Recently, romance author Milly Johnson received an outstanding achievement award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association. She used the moment to underline a point that we couldn’t agree with more: romance books are just as important as any other kind of literature.
From classic romance novels like Jane Eyre to mafia romance books, the genre has often been looked down upon. But as Milly Johnson explained, not all books should be judged by the same criteria.
In her acceptance speech, Johnson spoke about the power of romance books, calling them “the glorious counterbalance to this climate of hate,” and noting that “there is plenty of space for other books beside the tragic and the challenging.”
“We sell these ‘lesser books’ by the millions, our sales are on the up,” continued Johnson, whose romantic comedy The Magnificent Mrs. Mayhew was a Sunday Times bestseller. “The worse the world is, the more we are needed to be the aloe vera on pressured, anxious lives. There is nothing wrong with a happy, hopeful ending, nothing wrong with making someone laugh as they read your words – or a good old heartwarming love story.”
Related: Good News: Romance Novels Can Help Soothe Coronavirus Stress
You can listen to Johnson’s speech for yourself in the tweet below:
Milly Johnson receives the RNA lifetime achievement award 02032020 https://t.co/4QXJD8CPwt via @YouTube - for those interested... here’s my speech.
— 🐈📚Milly Johnson 📚🌻 (@millyjohnson) March 3, 2020
Featured photo: Alisa Anton / Unsplash
