ATLANTA — While romance remains the best-selling fiction genre in the U.S., with over 51 million copies sold last year, authors of color make up only a small fraction of that success. A new wave of content creators, authors and festivals is changing that and Atlanta is leading the movement.

One of the voices of this new era of Black romance is Jaleesa Jackson, a content creator who’s built a following on TikTok and Instagram for spotlighting Black indie romance.

"I just opened up my camera one day and said, 'Hey, my name is Jaleesa. I read Black indie romance, and I want to join BookTok," Jackson said.

Through platforms like BookTok and Bookstagram, Jaleesa found readers who shared her love of Black-authored stories and characters who looked like her.

"I remember seeing a Beverly Jenki

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