Romancing the tablet

: How Harlequin is revolutionizing the e-book market
John Barber
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Saturday, May. 14, 2011

Donna's heart fluttered tremulously as Dave faced the room to announce the company's disappointing quarterly results. Bursting with her own good news, it was all she could do to maintain a seemly frown as her handsome obelisk of a boss performed his melancholy duty. Oh, how it hurt to pretend that business was only so-so when she knew – when every woman knew – the forbidden truth. Yet hurt she must – anything to soothe the fiery emotions surging

As a result, Donna (Hayes, president of Harlequin Enterprises, distaff subsidiary of the Torstar media conglomerate) did her best to play down her own success at the company's recent annual general meeting. The fact that cheap, steamy romance novels currently contribute an unprecedented 50 per cent of Torstar's operating profit is just a seasonal anomaly, she suggests. “But it is unusual,” she allows.

In fact, Harlequin is a major player in what is so far the world's most successful market for electronic literature. While other publishers shrink from e-readers like lisping villains faced with a fully flexed Fabio, Harlequin and its competitors have found their perfect match.

Full piece at Globe & Mail.