There’s no denying that romance is absolutely booming right now: walk into any bookshop and you’ll be confronted by a wall of fun illustrative covers and cutesy titles. But despite this, publishers in Australia are lagging in the current romance boom, which means they’re desperately seeking on-trend romance. In this writing workshop with author and editor Melanie Saward, participants will discuss the rules of writing romance — the structure, tropes, and different subgenres — and break down the tropes and explore how to use them along with structure to plan an on-trend Australian romance novel. Look at the traditions of romance and the ways in which writers can play with the rules (and sometimes break them) to create romance for broad and diverse audiences, because love and joy is for everyone! Draw from the work of Australian romance authors like Jodi McAlister, Kylie Scott, Rachael Johns, and Claire Christian as well as international bestsellers like Abby Jimenez, Ali Hazelwood, Tahlia Hibbert and Emily Henry. Please note, this workshop can get a little spicy so it’s adults only!