Kensington Publishers

Walter Zacharius

Zebra romances would not have existed if it were not for Walter Zacharius. Zacharius was a seasoned veteran of the publishing industry.

In 1975, he created the Kensington Publishers. After witnessing the romance revolution, he knew that with his connections, he could create his own romance line.

Soon thereafter, Zacharius bought Zebra Books from Grove Press. The company was known for its salacious releases. Zacharius’ unique branding would make Zebra thrive.

He immediately hired Roberta Grossman to work for him. At the age of 29, she was the youngest president of any paperback house. For many years the Zebra imprint was Kensington’s only line.

The Zebra Romance Novel

While Avon carefully chose their authors, Zebra tried a different method. As they were unable to pay high advances or royalties, Zebra published as many authors as possible. This was often despite their capabilities.

Early on, most Zebra books ran well over 500 pages in length. They frequently needed rewriting and were filled with typos. Experienced editors were hard to come by. This was due to many in the industry looking down on Zebra as upstarts. The result was a mixed bag of books. Some were inordinately verbose and boring. Others were salacious and rip-roaring fun.

The Covers

Depending upon one’s taste, the Zebra romance was a thing of beauty. At least, the artwork was. Instead of investing in quality authors, Zebra spent much of its money on covers. The belief was that the covers convinced readers to buy the books. One of Zacharius’ maxims was “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.”

So to dazzle book-buyers, Zebra covers used foiling and embossing. Then they hired talented cover artists like Walter Popp, Ray Kursar, Pino Daeni, Robert Sabin, Diane Sivavec, Elaine Duillo, and John Ennis to design their covers. Bright pastel colors, like pink, lavender, and orange, would draw one’s attention. The couple would be engaged in a clinch embrace. A horse, bird, flower, castle, or ship was usually in the background.

Most of the book blurbs would avoid the plot altogether. Instead, they described the heroine’s luscious curves, eye color, and long locks of hair. While at the same time emphasizing the hero’s musculature, alpha nature, and desire for the heroine.

Lovegram & Heartfire

Holograms were used to decorate their new Zebra Lovegram line of books, which was launched in 1985. The first Lovegram was Elaine Barbieri’s Passion’s Dawn. The eventual success of the Lovegram line would cause Zebra to produce another in 1987.

The following Heartfire line was similar to the Lovegrams. It would use newer, less established authors like Nicole Jordan, Jane Feather, and Dana Ransom (aka Nancy Gideon).

Zebra titles were as formulaic as their covers but also as fun. They would consist of a geographical location before a noun like: Cheyenne Captive or Texas Princess. In some cases, an adjective, color, or term of endearment would be placed before a noun like Jade Temptation or Velvet Vixen.

Sweet Savage Flame created a Romance Name Generator based on Zebra’s method of naming books. We recommend you check it out for laughs.

Industry Growth

Later in the 1980s, Zebra branched out from historical romance into other genres. These included horror, westerns, general fiction, and traditional regencies were big sellers.

Kensington purchased Pinnacle books in 1988. They would ultimately revamp that imprint to release true crime, celebrity biographies, humor, and other nonfiction works. They subsequently also produced romances that were quite different from the typical Zebras.

From 1985 to 2005, Kensington published the Zebra Regency line. Concurrently, they ran a popular Gothics series under the Zebra name as well.

Zebra Authors

Janelle Taylor, F. Rosanne Bittner, Sylvie F. Sommerfield, Sonya T. Pelton, Cassie Edwards, Rochelle Wayne, Deana James, Carole Finch (who had multiple pseudonyms), Thea Devine, and Penelope Neri are among the authors who wrote Zebra romances.

Heading into the 1980s and 1990s, Zebra would gain some serious credentials. Consequently, Fern Michaels, Michael Reagan, and Joyce Carol Oates were just a few “respectable” or established writers who had books released by Zebra.

The Leaner Years

After publishing hundreds of books, the Heartfire and Lovegram lines went defunct in the 1990s. Following them were the Precious Gem Historical, Ballad, and, in the 2000s the Splendor lines. However, they quickly folded, too.

Before Zebra’s collapse, the usually vibrant covers disappeared. No longer would they portray couples in front of an orange-pink sunset with a mansion, ship, or rearing horse in the background. These would be replaced by plainer ones. Perhaps the cover would be adorned with flowers, a castle, or a mask. Or, worse, nothing more than the author’s name and the title of the book would be displayed.

The times had changed at Kensington. Zebra would be one of its casualties.

Zebra Today

Today, Kensington still produces Zebra historical romances. But they are a far cry from the eye-catching books created by Zacharius. Many now come out solely in e-book format.

Zebra remains a successful company, publishing multiple genres. Quite notably, they are still a family-owned business. Kensington is the largest independent publisher to this day.

The Covers

Links

• Heartfire Backlist at FictionDB
• Lovegram Backlist at FictionDB
• Splendor Backlist at FictionDB
• Goodreads: Zebra Romance Group
• Goodreads: Favorite Zebra Historical Romances List
• My Zebra Pinterest
• Zebra Books Wikipedia
• Bookpage Interviews Walter Zacharius
• Publisher’s Weekly Obituary for Walter Zacharius
• New York Times: Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87
• New York Times: Roberta Grossman, 46, Head of Zebra Books, dies