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A book start-up wants sexy reading to be guilt-free (no dragons, either)

ERICA CERULO AND Claire Mazur have made a career of being cool-spotters and curators, first with their beloved bygone retail shop Of a Kind, then their "A Thing or Two" newsletter and companion podcast. Their latest venture is 831 Stories, which Cerulo describes as "an entertainment company with books at the foundation." Think of film distributor A24, with a sensibility that extends beyond movies and into co-branded scented candles and posters, but for romance novels.

A nod to late-'9os pager code for "I love you," with its eight letters, three words, and one meaning, 831 Stories will publish six books by different authors in its first year. First, Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff, in which a politico forms a connection with her childhood boy band crush, and then A.C. Robinson's Hardly Strangers. Beyond the page, 831 will offer clever merchandise like hats embroidered with classic romantic tropes ("Enemies to Lovers"), in-person events for readers, and bonuses, such as a recording of an original song from Big Fan.

In the romantic fiction space occupied by such juggernauts as Harlequin and the rising tide of romance titles from major imprints, Cerulo and Mazur identified a fan base of 30 million-plus readers with a bottomless appetite for characters who confront realworld thorns but are still guaranteed their happily ever after. However, there was a perception problem. "These books, when we were growing up in the '90s, were sold at the grocery store and had a very specific bare-chested aesthetic, and were always presented by the broader culture as books for people who don't read books," Cerulo says. The challenge: stripping the label of "guilty pleasure" from the joyful experience of reading romance and making it just pleasure. But sex is still "core," Cerulo insists, estimating an average spice level of "three and a half chili peppers out of five." Today, the duo want to be ambassadors for romance as "a force for good." "You pick up [a romance novel] and you know that there's going to be a piece of joy in it for you and a comfort level in it," Mazur says. "I always know I'm going to feel safe within the constraints of this book."

At least for now, stories in the planned interconnected 831 universe will be set in contemporary times, and plots will feature women whose professional success does not depend on the status of their relationships. "The rest of her life cannot hinge on this relationship," Cerulo says. "We really like the idea of self-actualized female main characters. It's just nice to see that in the world."

KASE WICKMAN