Maris Kreizman makes you wonder what the hell she’s doing here
Harlequin announced Monday that it has partnered with AI company Dashverse and will use its own production studio to offer 40 short videos “inspired” by Harlequin Romance books. These little short films, or microdramas, are animated “mobile-first” and press releases treat this all as great news, as if this is the product announcement we’ve all been waiting for.
Harlequin executives seem to be wondering why authors and readers alike can’t be happy when a publisher works with a partner that uses “cutting-edge technology” to promote their books. What could go wrong?
Add new microdramas inspired by these books to the pile of AI-generated products that no one actually wants, and whose authors never asked for them in the first place. These are just another example of publishers spending time and money chasing new things when all readers really want – all we’ve ever wanted – is to read a good book. And most authors, and let me speak on behalf of most authors, want to be well-paid, well-edited, and well-read, and they don’t want to see their work degraded by generative AI.
It’s especially difficult for Harlequin to view this new partnership as a benefit to authors, since “authors will receive royalties from the videos,” according to Harlequin publisher Brent Lewis. Social media posts indicate that the authors were not consulted before the deal was signed or announced, so there was no way to opt out. As with many new generative AI technologies, company executives moved forward with the project without the consent of the authors who would actually be the driving force behind the work.
Wouldn’t it be better for the entire publishing ecosystem if publishers took the time and money to take care of the editing, marketing, and distribution of every book on their list?
This decision is even more perplexing because the romance genre is booming and gaining more and more readers every year since 2020. Harlequins in particular are experiencing a great boom. new york times bestselling moments due to the success of fierce rivalry series. Fast forward to the end of 2025. fierce rivalry When it first became popular, all fans wanted was for Harlequin to make sure this series was available in stores. This was a fundamental problem to solve. No generation AI required.
I’ve written many times about how editors and other book workers are severely overworked and underpaid because too many books are published at once. For corporate publishers, quantity is more attractive than quality.
This means books can fall through the cracks. Despite the best efforts of those involved in editing these books, some are poorly edited or receive little publicity. Wouldn’t it be better for the entire publishing ecosystem if publishers spent the time and money looking after the editing, marketing, and distribution of every book on their list instead of chasing new technology?
There are many fundamental problems that publishers can solve without working with partners who have invented something completely new, but that doesn’t stop them from trying. In the 2010s, there were hundreds of book startups that promised to “disrupt” publishing, but spoiler alert, none of them actually did. And “enhanced ebooks” briefly became popular when publishers believed that readers wanted an interactive reading experience. At about the same time, book trailers were to become a new visual medium to attract readers unfamiliar with the book. These too are outdated.
It is not the reading experience that is useless. That part is not broken and has never been broken. “Some of the world’s most powerful stories already exist. We just need to experience them in new ways,” said Sanidya Narain, CEO and co-founder of Dashverse. Generative AI, which publishers have to worry about inadvertently building into their books, could also be the key to unlocking a book’s potential. You can’t have it both ways.
On Tuesday, HarperCollins, Harlequin’s parent company (which is also my publisher), announced that it will publish a new book by alleged couchfucker J.D. Vance about converting to Catholicism as an adult later this spring. Mr. Vance is currently the most unpopular member of the faltering Trump administration. I think most readers are expecting this book as much (and not at all) as a new romance-inspired microdrama, but at least Vance’s books have super PAC readers who will buy them in bulk…
