The Bravo of Romance Novels? Meet 831 Stories
David Brandon Geeting
“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 Thing or Two 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.
Big Fan (831 Stories) by Alexandra Romanoff
$15.00, Amazon
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, for example. After reading, you’ll be able to stream the fictional single from the book on Spotify, read an epilogue about the characters online, buy the same necklace the love interest gives the main character in the third act, and attend events in Los Angeles and New York City with the author.
Naomi Otsu x 831 Stories Mischief T-Shirt
$35.00, 831 Stories
“We want to be hip, horny Hallmark,” Mazur says. “We really believe that there’s room for a big mainstream romance book household brand that people recognize but also broadens the audience for love stories.”
A lofty goal—but one Cerulo and Mazur seem poised to meet. After all, they’ve built a loyal fan base before through their popular artisanal retailer Of A Kind, which was eventually bought by Bed Bath & Beyond and then shut down after the parent company experienced its own financial troubles. By 2019, they were taking a break, and, as Mazur puts it, “trying to recover from startup life.” Then the pandemic happened and both found themselves turning to romance novels and audiobooks to pass the time.
One in particular captured their attention: The Idea of You, the Robinne Lee novel that was recently adapted into a movie starring Anne Hathaway. “We were so excited about that main character and what it represented,” Mazur says. Here is a woman in her 40s who isn’t experiencing a midlife crisis—she’s confident, fulfilled, and, yeah, enjoys sex with the younger lead singer of the most popular boy band in the world. More importantly, they saw how books like The Idea of You were inspiring women, themselves included, to have more open conversations about sex in person and on mainstream social media accounts in a way they’d never seen before.
“We weren’t really talking about sex drive and desires that these books were talking about explicitly and openly and without any caveat before,” Mazur says. “The sex positivity that we grew up with as women, now in our 40s, was Samantha Jones…. It was really exciting to read this stuff that was like, no, women are horny too.”
During this time, they caught up with a friend who was a venture capitalist. They asked him what companies he was looking into, and he said he was really interested in the manga space. As he was describing the fandom around it and the potential to be like Marvel’s hyper-engaged community, they realized: that’s romance readers.
“The comic book comparison felt so apt because it’s that exact same desire once you finish the story—to stay immersed in it, right?” Mazur says. “You’re just grasping for how else you can continue to exist in the world of these characters. It’s part of what drives the rate of consumption in romance, because it’s always a little bittersweet to finish one. Any romance reader knows that feeling.”
And thus, the idea for 831 Stories was born—a fully immersive experience with an identifiable brand mark so people know what they’re getting. The name comes from the ’90s beeper code for “I love you” (eight letters, three words, one meaning) and is just one example of how well Mazur and Cerulo understand the romance fandom’s affinity for a common language of tropes, Easter eggs, and other if-you-know-you-know-isms.
831 Stories Enemies to Lovers Trope Hat
$35.00, 831 Stories
831 Stories Only One Bed Keychain
$9.00, 831 Stories
So, what makes an 831 story? They’ve been commissioning writers they like—people they think bring something interesting, especially if they haven’t explored the genre before. The books will always follow the romance formula, so you can expect a happily ever after every time. And for now, they’re only sticking to contemporary romance. “So no dragons,” Mazur jokes. “But who knows? Never say never.”
What you won’t find: a story where the main character’s career is on the line because of the relationship, or one where her total happiness hinges on the success of the love story. Related to that, no coming-of-age stories—the main characters in 831 books are self-possessed, even if they don’t have all their shit together. “The love is adding to her world,” Cerulo says. “If this relationship didn’t work out, she would be fine. She’d move on. Her life would continue.”
Each book will also have a world beyond it. They know romance readers are vocal—so if there’s a character that fans particularly love, they might get their own spin-off. They also say they’ll continue to do in-person events and hopefully some themed to each book specifically. Their second book will be released in November, with more to come.
“We spent months trying to talk ourselves out of starting something new—our quality of life was pretty nice before becoming founders again!—but it turns out we were too excited about the power of romance novels and their fandom to make the world better,” Mazur wrote on Instagram to celebrate Big Fan’s release. “Sexy love stories are for everyone. Yes, even you.”
Originally Appeared on Glamour
