Meet 831 Stories, the Bravo of Romance Novels [Video]

“Why isn’t there a Marvel for romance?” Erica Cerulo says. “A Bravo for romance? An A24 for romance?”

It’s a good question. Romance literature is a billion-dollar industry, with the genre’s novels accounting for 25% of all books purchased. And yet, it is so often relegated to the status of guilty pleasure. “There was a quote that we read somewhere that was like, romance books are the only books you can read and people think you’re dumber for reading them,” Cerulo says.

But she and her best friend, business partner, and A Few Things podcast co-host Claire Mazur believe they have a solution in 831 Stories, their new entertainment company that launched September 10 with the publishing of its first book, Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff.

831 Stories doesn’t start and stop with publishing. The company aims to create a loyal, active fan community around their content and expand the universe of each book through in-person events and multimedia, merch, and more. Take Big Fan…