Take a look at any recent bestseller list and you’ll see that romance certainly isn’t dead – at least not in the publishing world.
Over the past decade, romance has become the leading genre in the international book market, fueled in part by its popularity with younger readers in online communities on TikTok and Instagram.
Subgenres like ‘romantasy’ – which blends elements of the traditional fantasy novel with a romantic plotline – have led to the rise of a new generation of best-selling authors, including Sarah J. Maas, whose Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorn and Roses series have sold more than 40 million copies in 38 languages.
It’s this fast-growing industry that UniSC Creative Writing and Publishing student and emerging author Calissa Baylow is preparing to step into as she completes her degree.
Calissa, who is in the final semester of a Bachelor of Creative Industries, was recently named the 2025 winner of UniSC’s Gary Crew Award, a flash fiction competition established in 2010 to honour renowned author and Emeritus Professor Gary Crew, who founded the University’s Creative Writing program.
Calissa’s winning short story, ‘The Precipice’, centres on the romantic possibilities that unfold during a chance encounter between two strangers in a bar one rainy afternoon. Another entry, ‘Amidst the Silence’, took second place.
Like many authors, Calissa – whose work focuses mostly on contemporary romance and fantasy – came to writing through a passion for reading.
“I loved reading from a young age, and at school I was always good at English and really enjoyed my creative writing assessments,” she says.
“When I was considering uni, I thought maybe I should pursue that – that it could lead to a career in something I’m interested in and enjoy.”
Calissa enrolled in UniSC’s Bachelor of Creative Industries, a flexible degree that allows students to major in their choice of 10 disciplines, including Creative Writing and Publishing, Music, Visual Communication, Game Design and more.
UniSC Creative industries coordinator Dr Hannah Banks said the program was designed to gives students freedom and flexibility to get exposure and experience across multiple disciplines.
“Working as a creative practitioner often means you’re collaborating across a spectrum of disciplines, industries and platforms,” Dr Banks says.
“Whether you’re studying music, theatre, screen media or creative writing, you’ll graduate with a well-rounded knowledge of how the industry works, meaning you’ll be ready to start your own project or have the base-line skills to start working in industry when you graduate.”
In addition to honing her writing skills, Calissa’s studies have given her a foundation in the practicalities of the publishing industry, including the creative processes of successful authors, how manuscripts are written and edited, and how books are sold and marketed online.
Her interest in the latter led Calissa to start her own book-focused Instagram (or ‘Booksta’) account, @calissa_reads, where she reviews and recommends books to more than 5,000 followers.
“I’d seen so many people make good connections online, and in anticipation of the end of my degree I wanted to see if I could also build a platform,” she says.
“It’s been really fun – it's a great creative outlet and I’ve been able to network with other authors and publishers the way I’d wanted.”
As she prepares to finish her studies, Calissa is looking ahead to the next stage in her career and hopes to find work that will allow her to transition into the industry full time: whether that’s in bookselling, with a publishing house or through writing her own romantasy novel.
“I’d like to set aside time to focus and try to write a book myself,” she says. “I have a few ideas for contemporary romance or fantasy novels, so I’m looking forward to setting myself that challenge.”
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