#SultryListeners LGBTQ Romance Semi-Finals (Sept 26-28th!) #LoveAudiobooks
Friends, the #SultryListeners LGBTQ romance bracket has been blazing through rounds, and this week we are at the semi-finals. Voting opens today, September 26, and runs through Wednesday, September 28. Get those votes in, signal-boost your favorites, and let us celebrate one of the strongest brackets we have run.
Where We Are
We started this bracket with a deep field of LGBTQ romance audiobook performances spanning M/M, F/F, bi, pan, trans, and nonbinary character romances across contemporary, historical, paranormal, and suspense subgenres. The narrators, casts, and production teams represented in this bracket have been turning out some of the best work in romance audio, full stop.
We are now down to four performances. Each round has gotten tighter. Last round had us refreshing the voting tracker every twenty minutes. This round, I expect, will be even tighter.
How to Vote
Voting happens on Twitter using the #SultryListeners hashtag and on the participating blogs. Specifically:
- Watch for the semi-final brackets posted by the participating bloggers (link list at the bottom of this post).
- Cast your vote on the Twitter polls between September 26 and 28.
- Tag the narrators and authors when you celebrate your picks. They love seeing the love.
- Spread the word. The more voters, the better the bracket reflects the community.
You do not need to have personally listened to all four semi-finalists to vote. We trust your taste. If a performance moved you, vote for it.
A Few Thoughts on This Bracket
I want to say something here that I have been thinking about all season. The LGBTQ romance audio space has grown so much in the past few years, and the production quality has grown right along with it. We are seeing more own-voices casting, more thoughtful narrator selection, and more publishers taking the time to do these books right. The performances in this semi-final round are not just good “for LGBTQ romance” or good “for audiobook.” They are some of the most accomplished work in the genre, period.
And the listeners showing up for this bracket are a community I am proud to be part of. Vocal, kind, generous with the cheer. Thank you for making #SultryListeners feel like a celebration and not just a competition.
Get Involved
- Vote: Twitter polls under #SultryListeners between Sept 26-28.
- Cheer: Tag your favorite narrators and authors. Tell them why their work mattered to you.
- Recommend: If you discovered a new listen through this bracket, write a review or share on social. Bracket buzz is what gets these audiobooks into more earbuds.
- Tag along: Use #SultryListeners and #LoveAudiobooks on your posts so the community can find you.
Thank You
Big thanks to the bloggers running this bracket alongside me, including @MLSimmons and the rest of the crew, and to every listener who has shown up for this season. The finals are coming next week. Vote, cheer, and let us celebrate.
See you in the semi-finals threads.