Erotica to the Rescue

It might be hard to swallow that books with titles like Thong on Fire (Atria) (“by the author of G-Spot and Candy Licker”) might be the answer the publishing industry has been searching for. However that's just what Gawker tells us in a piece called “Erotica Might Save Publishing”:

Ever read any black urban erotic chick lit? How about wordy-porn featuring shape-shifting werewolves? No? Surely you must have picked up the S&M re-imagining of Robin Hood? Because it's masterworks like these that may revitalize publishing.

Nor are the readers exactly who you might expect:

The average customer is a "middle class woman under 40," although increasing numbers of men are also locking the door before picking up their nightly reading, says author Brian Alexander. Kensington Books, with an unfortunate choice of phrase, say the market has "exploded," while San Francisco's Cleis Press has seen a sales increase of 56 per cent.

The Gawker piece is here.