Leading romance authors Kristan Higgins and Sarah MacLean explore how they write happily-ever-afters when the world can seem a dangerous and scary place.

Higgins, author of Now That You Mention It, has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, the New York Journal of Books, and Library Journal. Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into more than two dozen languages.

MacLean, author of The Day of the Duchess, is the bestselling writer of historical romance novels that have been translated into more than twenty languages and the winner of back-to-back RITA Awards for Historical Romance from the Romance Writers of America. She is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place at the nexus of gender and cultural studies.

Panel moderator Caroline Linden, author of All’s Fair in Love and Scandal, earned a math degree from Harvard University and wrote computer code before turning to writing historical romance.