Geneva High School grad launches Feminist Romance Podcast
Becca Grischow knew she was going to be a writer since she wrote her first poem as a first-grader at Western Avenue School in Geneva. It was only a few years later that she learned the word "sexist" during recess on the W.A.S. playground from one of her classmates.
Now, at 25, that young writer, learning about women's rights in the form of a game of "boys chase girls," is a ghostwriter, and a founder of her own literary production company - but not in the genre she dreamed of back then.
For years, romance has been the bestselling industry in the literary community, but it's rarely given the respect of the literary crowd.
Maybe it's the half-naked men on the covers of romance novels, or maybe it's the taboo nature of the content, but for whatever reason, romance readers have often been hush-hush about reading the genre.
But not Grischow.
Monitoring the pulse of this industry of heart throbs, Becca founded ConSensual LLC, a female-founded production company of romance for a new generation of feminists.
Grischow and her co-founder and Rachel Borgo refer to their unique, consent-celebrating product "romance for riot grrrls."
This summer, ConSensual kicks off their multiplatform romance podcast by announcing their premiere season, "Ten Week Turnabout," a feminist-focused romance audio series available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for free.
"Ten Week Turnabout" by Amelia J. Rose is a fictional romance novella that follows Ingrid and Noah - once awkward high school sweethearts, now adults - who are reunited in the midst of a steamy Manhattan summer. With 14 episodes per season, the podcast's dual perspective features performances by Becca's sister and fellow Geneva High grad Allison Grischow, with additional voicing from Chicago and New York actors.
Allison's experience on the Geneva High School stage in the spring musicals brought her to major in music and theater at Valparaiso University. Now, she works as a full-time voice-over and stage actor in Chicago.
With interactive character Instagram profiles, their audience is able to follow the protagonists chapter by chapter as their love story plays out in their headphones.
Chapters 1-3 of "Ten Week Turnabout" are available for immediate streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The e-book will be released as a digital novella on the day of the final episode of the season, Sept. 23, 2020.
ConSensual LLC was founded by Becca Grischow and Rachel Borgo with the desire to see explicit and enthusiastic consent in the romance industry, while producing media that caters to a younger generation of readers.
Follow on Instagram @ConSensualPod for series updates.