Researching Interracial Romance Novels

Romance novels typically have been written by white women, featuring white protagonists. But since the 1980s, women of color have begun writing romances, with black-white lovers featuring prominently. Bowdoin College English professor Guy Mark Foster says the genre is uniquely suited for an examination of race, culture and sexuality—with its recurring themes of forbidden love overcoming great obstacles.

This Horse Is a Winner

Robert Olmstead worked for about 10 years on a book that tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who leaves his home in search of his father, a soldier in the Civil War. The book, Coal Black Horse, has now earned the associate professor of English at Ohio Wesleyan University the 2007 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction.