Meet 831 Stories, the Bravo of Romance Novels
glamour.com, with the genre’s novels accounting for . And yet, so often relegated to the status of guilty pleasure. “There was a quote that we read somewhere that was like, romance books are the only books you can read and people think you're dumber for reading them,” Cerulo says.But she and her best friend, business partner, and A Few Things podcast co-host Claire Mazur believe they have a solution in 831 Stories, their that launched September 10 with the publishing of its first book, Amazon831 Stories doesn’t start and stop with publishing.
The company aims to create a loyal, active fan community around their content and expand the universe of each book through in-person events and multimedia, merch, and more.
Take Big Fan, for example. After reading, you’ll be able to stream the fictional single from the book on Spotify, read an epilogue about the characters online, buy the same necklace the love interest gives the main character in the third act, and attend events in Los Angeles and New York City with the author.831 StoriesAn 831 Stories T-shirt inspired by the book, Big Fan.“We want to be hip, horny Hallmark,” Mazur says. “We really believe that there’s room for a big mainstream romance book household brand that people recognize but also broadens the audience for love stories.”A lofty goal—but one Cerulo and Mazur seem poised to meet.
After all, they’ve built a loyal fanbase before through their popular artisanal retailer Of A Kind, which was eventually bought by Bed Bath & Beyond and then shut down after the parent company experienced its own financial troubles.
Read more on glamour.com