From Colleagues to Courtship Indigenous Romance

Sometimes, being forced to work together on a project might not be so bad… especially when it leads to falling in love. At the Crooked Rock Urban Indian Center in Pamela Sanderson's Heartbeat Braves, Rayanne Larson's special project is unexpectedly handed over to the underachieving nephew of the Center's new leader, and she is determined to keep her distance until a crisis forces the two of them closer together. In Native Love Jams by Tashia Hart, Winnow is hired to cook for the first Indigenous Food Days in a rural Minnesota village, where she and her unwelcoming host Niigaanii must pull thorns from their past to harvest their own love story. Dani Trujillo's When Stars Have Teethtakes place in the San Francisco Urban Indian Center, where employee Buffy Yellowbird agrees on an associates-with-benefits arrangement with an ultra-suave immigration lawyer who leaves her longing for more. Emerging from a past abundant with problematic Indigenous tropes, the romance genre is greatly enriched by the novels of this panel, which showcase genre fiction created by authors who identify with the cultures represented. Moderated by the content creator behind publishing imprint Boozhoo Books Naomi Darling, this lovely panel celebrates Indigenous romance writing and the sparks that arise in partnership. This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.  Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/