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In a packed room in Sydney, an excited crowd riffles through stacks of stickers and bookmarks, seeking out their favourite characters. Another group peruses racks of clothing, pulling out T-shirts that declare “romance readers club” and “probably reading about fairies”.

A poster on the wall, adorned with pull-away strips, invites visitors to select their desire: a three-way affection, a love confession mid-dragon battle, a complex character or a cowboy.

Half of the tabs have already been taken. This is a temporary store for literary-themed goods: visitors are certain about which tropes they want to leave with.

This scene puts an observer amid an energetic and thriving fan community. The pop-up store is operated by an Australian small business that produces handmade book-themed merchandise. The event reached out to tens of thousands of followers on social media, and a significant number came: the queue outside stretched down the block.

The Social Media Surge

It’s a single instance that have grown out of Australia’s swiftly burgeoning online book community. Literary TikTok and Instagram, on the platforms TikTok and Instagram, have skyrocketed since 2020, and romantic fiction and its fantastical cousin are the top-selling types.

The core participants are females in their second and third decades online fan communities.

A Reader's Journey

One such reader is an educator in her mid-twenties from Brisbane who began reviewing romance novels on her social media account in 2020.

“I grew up in what we like to refer to as the Wattpad era,” she says, alluding to a popular fan-fiction site. Much of the writing was “of low quality,” she admits, “but a lot of it was quite romance based and I read so much of that.”

“Once I got to university I started reading more frequently of romance … and I’ve been pretty much reading it ever since,” she states.

She now reads a vast number of books a year. Her online presence has enabled her to bond with other romance readers locally and globally – even leading to a new housemate.

“We initially connected over social media and figured out that we were both teachers, both read the same stuff and we’ve met up in person a bunch of times and now we’re about to move in together,” she explains.

Creating Commerce from Devotion

The online community is a major attraction of the genre, say the founders of an online store, Trilogy of Romance, which they started as a place to honor their love of romance novels.

“We noticed that romance – especially darker and trope-driven romance – didn’t always have a dedicated, judgment-free space in traditional bookstores and starting online allowed us to connect directly with readers who shared that passion,” they say.

“The reception has been overwhelmingly supportive, we’ve built a loyal, engaged community that supports not just our store but each other.”

Their customers are overwhelmingly female readers aged from their 20s to 40s who are “very drawn to ethically ambiguous heroes” – although athletic romantic subgenres is also popular.

“Dark romance is by far our biggest seller both in books and merchandise,” they confirm.

The Retail Landscape

Despite being one of the most rapidly expanding categories along with science fiction, Australian bookstores frequently are without large displays for romantic fiction. Outside of phenomenal successes – like certain romantasy best-sellers – most romance readers rely on ebooks.

If they want to visit a dedicated store, they seek out a Sydney bookstore named Romancing the Novel. The store’s owner, herself a romance author, says customers have often planned their day around their visit.

Her preferred customers are those who are rediscovering literature.

“We’ve actually gotten men who don’t read romance but they want to dip their toes in, or they love to read fantasy and they’re like ‘Oh I’ve just read a popular romantasy book’ … what can I get into next?” she says.

*Names have been withheld for privacy