The Ripped Bodice
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bookstore, Retail |
| Founded | 2016-03-04 |
| Founder | Bea Koch, Leah Koch |
| Headquarters | Culver City , United States |
| Products | Romance novels, erotica books |
| Website | www |
The Ripped Bodice, which opened its doors on March 4, 2016,[1] is a specialized bookstore located in Culver City, California, United States, dedicated exclusively to romance novels. It holds the distinction of being the first retail outlet focused solely on romance literature in the Northern Hemisphere.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad nameCite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Description
Founded by sisters Bea and Leah Koch in 2016, The Ripped Bodice was brought to life through a successful crowdfunding initiative on Kickstarter, where they raised $90,000 to launch the store.[1]
The bookstore offers a diverse selection of romance and erotica titles covering various sub-genres such as historical, contemporary, paranormal, science fiction, LGBTQ themes, and multilingual works.[1]Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Rather than sorting books by author surname or title, The Ripped Bodice categorizes its inventory according to these genres.[2]
In addition to retail, The Ripped Bodice organizes numerous in-store events, including author meet-and-greets, romantic comedy evenings, book clubs, and other literary gatherings.[1][2]Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad nameCite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name They also facilitate virtual book discussions.[3] Their flagship annual event, The Great Big Romance Read, attracts participants from across the country and has positively impacted sales of the featured books due to its broad reach.[3]
In September 2018, the Koch sisters entered into an agreement with Sony Pictures Television to create television adaptations based on romance narratives.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Diversity in Romance
Since the store's inception in 2016, the Koch sisters have produced an annual publication titled The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing. This yearly report presents data on the proportion of authors of color (AOCs) featured by leading romance publishers such as Harlequin, Kensington, Avon Romance, Entangled, and Crimson Romance. Consistently, the findings highlight a significant gap between the relatively low percentage of AOCs published by these major houses and the higher share of The Ripped Bodice's top-selling books authored by AOCs. Over the course of four years, the study has shown that the representation of works by authors of color among published titles has increased by less than one percent.
Romance Awards
In February 2020, The Ripped Bodice revealed the inaugural recipients of their newly created awards celebrating excellence in romance fiction. Named The Ripped Bodice's Awards for Excellence in Romance Fiction, this competition recognized the best romance novels from 2019. Twelve titles were selected by genre specialists and each winner was awarded $1,000. Honorees included Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan, Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, A Prince on Paper, One Ghosted, Twice Shy, and An Unconditional Freedom by Alyssa Cole, American Love Story by Adriana Herrera, Trashed by Mia Hopkins, and The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker. The 2020 awardees featured Go Deep by Rilzy Adams, Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade, Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert, The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite, The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan, The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham, The Roommate by Rosie Danan, The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria, You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, and Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur.
References
External links
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Independent bookstores in California
- Bookstores founded in the 21st century
- Bookshops in Los Angeles
- Romance novels
- Businesses located in Culver City, California
- Retailers launched in 2016
- American enterprises established in 2016
- 2016 establishments in California