The Ripped Bodice


The Ripped Bodice, established March 4, 2016, is a bookstore in Culver City, California in the United States, which sells only romance novels. It was the first romance book store opened in the northern hemisphere.

About

The store was established by Bea and Leah Koch. The sisters began a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, eventually raising the $90,000 needed to open The Ripped Bodice.
Books sold in The Ripped Bodice span a variety of sub-genres within romance and erotica including historical, contemporary, paranormal, sci-fi, LGBTQ, and multi-lingual. The books are arranged according to these topics, rather than organizing by title or author's last name.
The Ripped Bodice hosts events in their physical store, including author signings, romantic comedy nights, book clubs and general literary events. They also arrange online book discussions. Their annual book club event The Great Big Romance Read, has nationwide participation and has financially benefited books chosen to be discussed because of the widespread nature of the event.
In September 2018, the Koch sisters signed a contract with Sony Pictures Television to develop romance television projects.

Diversity in Romance

Starting the year the store opened in 2016, the Koch sisters began releasing an annual report titled The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing. This annual review displays the percentages of authors of color being published by the top romance publishing companies including Harlequin, Kensington, Avon Romance, Entangled, and Crimson Romance. Repeatedly, the study has revealed a disconnect between the small percentage of AOCs published, and the percentage of The Ripped Bodice's best selling titles written by AOCs. Over the four years the study has been conducted, the percentage of published works by authors of color has increased by less than one percent.

Romance Awards

In February 2020, the Ripped Bodice announced the first winners of their newly established awards for romance. The contest is titled The Ripped Bodice's Awards for Excellence in Romance Fiction and acknowledges the chosen best romance titles for 2019. Twelve books were honored, chosen by experts associate with the genre, and the winners each receive $1,000.