A couple of weeks ago, I spoke at a packed-out romance panel at my favourite Australian bookstore – Readings Hawthorn – with some authors I idolise. At the end, a woman came up to me beaming. She told me that her book club has read all four of my novels because, as she put it, “We’re a trashy book club; we only read trashy books.”

She meant it with pure affection. Her eyes lit up as she described the joy of gathering with friends to swoon over fictional boyfriends and debate tropes (enemies-to-lovers versus only-one-bed is always a point of contention). I laughed with her. Who wouldn’t want to be in a book club like that? I’ve called books trashy myself, and I meant it with love. Absolutely no shade on this glorious woman who has read all my novels. But as I walked away, that word clung to me uncomfortably.

Romance author Ali Berg is the co-author of four bestselling romantic comedies. Credit: The Age

Because here’s what we’re all actually calling literal garbage: the genre that outsells literary fiction by massive margins, explores consent and healthy relationships with more nuance than most “serious” books, and gives millions of readers stories about emotional intelligence, vulnerability and human connection.

Romance is the genre keeping bookshops alive. It’s the........

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