>Then, around 1970, female authorship really began to explode. "There was a sea change after 1970," Waldfogel says. That's exactly when Harlequin expanded into

>Then, around 1970, female authorship really began to explode. "There was a sea change after 1970," Waldfogel says. That's exactly when Harlequin expanded into the US, causing the entire bodice-ripper paperback market to explode worldwide. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel#Rise_of_the_category_romance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel#Rise_of_the_cate...> I don't mean to say that the entirety of the jump is from romance, but the massive growth of that genre definitely contributed. Then, of course, YA fiction; Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and the many, many, many women authors they inspired.