Romance has been a part of speculative fiction since its earliest days, even though SFF and romance are often viewed as polar opposites. Nowadays, SFF romance is a broad and varied field, encompassing anything from fantasy and paranormal romance via time travel romance to science fiction and post-apocalyptic romance. But even though speculative romance is popular and very successful, it is often ignored by the SFF community. This panel will give you an overview of the spectrum of SFF romance and discuss why speculative romance still doesn’t get the respect it deserves.
Q: why does a genre that’s all about imagined futures (SF) resist romance stories so much? Is it patriarchy, fear of emotions, shame about reading “trashy” stories, believing it cannot be serious if it contains romance?
“All romance in a way is about learning to love the other” — Jeffe Kennedy
3 story arcs: outside struggle, internal struggle, and romance — Elle Ire
Grace Draven: 50/50 worldbuilding/romance
