For Webby 2026 Judges

Listener Discretion Advised.

00:00 - 04:44

From Ep. 014 “Latine Love and Rebellion with Liana De La Rosa”

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Romance novels account for nearly a quarter of all adult print fiction sold in the United States.

Allie Martina, a professional romance novel narrator, explores how the language of romance is shaped by writers and narrators, and asks what is it about forbidden love, age gaps, and steamy sex scenes that women find so timelessly appealing.

And with more and more women listening to romance novels, it also matters how these books sound.

  • How does narration, depth of a male voice, or artistic performance affect a romantic scene?

  • Can the romance novel take words long considered shameful and flip them into words of empowerment?

  • Can a sexy voice make even the unsexiest sentence sound appealing?

In interviews with bestselling romance authors including Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, Jayne Ann Krentz, Olivia Dade, and Kate Golden, Zipless explores how romance novels change and reflect women’s lives on and off the page.

And in one-of-a-kind performances, professional romance novel narrator Gideon Frost joins Allie in exploring how innovative sound design can directly impact the hearts and minds of an audience.

04:45 - 06:37

From Ep. 012 “Cracking the Code of Romance Novels with Jayne Ann Krentz”

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06:38 - 08:07

From Ep. 016 “Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone are the Queen’s of Christmas Spice”

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08:08 - 13:02

From Ep. 015: “Rock Star Romance with Kate Golden”

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