Romance novelist Jane Kolven brings you the best trope-based contemporary LGBTQ stories. In addition to writing, Kolven researches the romance industry, LGBTQ history, and generative AI and is an in-demand speaker and consultant on these topics.
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Speaking and Consulting
Jane has spent ten years researching into LGBTQ romance and LGBTQ history, which she often teaches in college courses and community programs. Since 2023, she has been intensively researching the romance industry’s relationship to generative and agentic AI.
Jane gives talks and workshops via Zoom and in person on the topics below. Rates for community organizations like public libraries, college classes, and writers’ groups are low and sometimes waived. Rates for commercial organizations are competitively low. Programs can be customized to meet your needs. Please email your program details to receive a quote.
For authors seeking expert consultation (sometimes called sensitive reading) about LGBTQ characters and stories, please contact Jane with your plot summary and expected turnaround time to receive a quote.
- Generative AI basics, ethics, copyright concerns, readers’ perceptions
- Generative and agentic AI: industry uses and prohibitions
- LGBTQ romance history, character representation, and story analysis
Howdy Book Lovers đź‘‹
“Happy endings save lives.”
An attendee at a talk Jane gave on the history of LGBTQ romance to a local PFLAG chapter said this to Jane after the event. Romance is more than just dreamy or sexy stories; it’s a powerful political statement that we can all find – and deserve to find – love.
What Everyone’s Saying
“brims with warmth, tenderness, and comedic wit”
Jane Kolven’s work has been described as “nonconforming romance that’s fun and lighthearted.” Writing characters who don’t often get to be main characters, such as intersex and nonbinary people, Kolven is noted for the way her stories handle “respect and genderqueer representation.”
Upcoming and Past Events
Local Author Fair, Troy Public Library
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024
Jane was at the Local Author Fair hosted by the Troy Public Library, where she sold copies of her books.
Maggie Eliot / Humor Me Launch at Book Suey
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Jane made a guest appearance at the book launch for Humor Me, Maggie Eliot’s debut novel, at Book Suey in Hamtramck. Jane read excerpts from The Holiday Detour.
Let’s Talk Romance! at Schuler Books
Saturday, August 19, 2023
Along with three other romance writers, Jane appeared on a panel to celebrate Romance Day at Schuler Books in Ann Arbor.
About Jane
Who is Jane, anyway?
Jane Kolven is the author of multiple LGBTQ romance novels. She has lived from Paris to Chicago but currently resides in Michigan.
What’s her background?
As a child, Jane always had a pen in her hand. In college, she switched to theater, working as a playwright, director, and stage manager. She went to art school, where she earned her MFA in digital media arts and was one-third of performance art group. Later, she earned her PhD in English. Her first romance novel, under a different pen name, was published in 2013. Her first novel as Jane came out in 2020.
Is Jane LGBTQ?
Writers don’t necessarily have to share identities with their characters, but, yes, Jane writes LGBTQ romance because it’s personal. She came out in 1999 and loves the queer community.
Jane Kolven 