We Read Smut: Bookish Conversations for Romance Readers
Finally, a home for the spice you love and the representation you deserve. We Read Smut, hosted by Alesia, builds a judgment-free zone for readers who crave spicy plots and substance. We celebrate high-heat stories and inclusive casts. If you want open-door romance that features every body, you found the right show.
What to expect:
- Trope Breakdowns: We dissect the best (and hottest) tropes in the genre.
- Author Interviews: Hear the story behind the spice from your favorite creators.
- Shelf Help: Expert guidance to help you conquer your TBR pile.
- Inclusive Stories: We prioritize representative leads and diverse voices.
Whether you're a seasoned smut reader or just dipping your toes into the genre, this podcast is for you. We leave the shame at the door and celebrate the power of a well-written romance.
Join the Circle: Want personalized book picks and a private chat with Alesia? Join the After Dark Circle on Substack. Supporters get full access to every post and our private community of romance fans.
Connect with us: Follow @WeReadSmut on Instagram and use the hashtag #WeReadSmut to share your current read.
We Read Smut: Bookish Conversations for Romance Readers
Latest Episodes
Aya Winter on How Trend Readership Is Ruining Character Arcs and Reader Expectations
Trend readership is a fascinating topic, especially when readers enter a new genre without understanding the underlying character arcs or structural conventions. This week, I am sitting down with multi-genre indie author Aya Winter to break dow...
Gabriella Gamez on Librarians in Love, Brother’s Best Friend, and Latinx Character Dynamics
Let's talk about the absolute chaos demon that these librarians' love lives are. This week, I am sitting down with Gabriella Gamez to talk all about her Librarians in Love series. We dive into her books The Next Best Fling,
Melanated Reader on Mobilizing One Million Readers for Black Literature and Fighting Post-Literacy
What started as a simple vision to mobilize the bookish community has turned into an entire movement aiming to pull one million people together to read books by Black authors. In this special bonus episode, I am sitting down with Crystal, the f...
Katie Duggan on Giving Marginalized Characters the Spicy Happily-Ever-Afters They Deserve
Who says that romance is only for able-bodied or thin characters? In this episode, Northern Virginia romance author Katie Duggan joins the microphone to look at how we can take regular contemporary romance tropes and subvert them to center fat,...
Alyssa on Stories & Spoilers, Sapphic Romance, and Book Reviews
If you read across genres and love picking apart the deeper mechanics of a story, this conversation is for you. This week, I am sitting down with Alyssa, the brilliant host of the Stories & Spoilers podcast. As a self-proclaimed mo...
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
Medium Lady Reads
Jillian O'Keefe and Erin Vandeven
Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
Fated Mates
Day Drinking With Authors
Molly Fader/O'Keefe