QUICK TAKES - May 29, 2009

Love may not conquer all in real life, but its power in relatively inexpensive books is quite a comfort in this economy. Publishers are seeing strong sales in the romance genre as other categories decline and consumers cut back on spending.

Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., a global giant in women’s fiction, reported fourth-quarter earnings up 32% over the same period a year earlier, with U.S. retail sales up 9% in 2008.

For the week of May 10, romance book sales overall were up nearly 2.4% compared with the same week last year, according to Nielsen BookScan, which covers 75% of retail sales. Travel book sales were down 16%, detective/mystery and self-help were each down 17% and adult fiction overall, of which romance is a subgenre, was up 1%.

Jennifer Enderlin, associate publisher for St. Martin’s Press, said romance is doing so well that the publisher is releasing 32 titles this year (more could be added), compared to 26 last year.