Welcome to the heart and soul of The Passionate Pen!
The list of romance publishers and their submissions guidelines was the original purpose for this website. And while The Passionate Pen has grown into a much larger resource, this page is still updated and checked on a regular basis for accuracy. I hope having this listing in one place helps you on your own pursuit of publication. Special thanks to Jess Michaels (AKA Jenna Petersen / Jesse Petersen) created this resource back in 1999.
The Passionate Pen Romance Publisher Policy:
- We do not list vanity publishers or self-publishing firms.
- If a publisher asks for author monetary contribution at ANY part of the publishing process, they will not be included.
Money should only flow FROM the publisher TO the author. - We reserves the right to remove publishers for any reason.
- Publishers may be removed if they haven’t released a romance for over 6 months.
- We does not vouch for the validity, future or the quality of your experience with of any house listed.
- We no longer lists whether or not a publisher is accepting submissions. Please check the stated submission guidelines of your chosen publisher to verify if they are open.
- The Passionate Pen Romance Publisher list includes publishers at the discretion of Killer Book Marketing.
- If you have had personal, first hand knowledge that a publisher on this list does not meet the criteria, feel free to
email me so I can remove them.
Major Publishers
The following publishers are the major players in mainstream romance. They all produce mass market paperback, trade paperback (not print on demand) and hardcover.
Avon Books— A subsidiary of Harper Collins, this is still the name in romance (especially historical romance). The site has had a total overhaul and is really reader friendly. Avon is definitely getting on board in support of their authors online. They have submission guidelines. My previous publisher as Jenna Petersen and Jess Michaels. Verified 4/23/2014
Hachette Book Group USA — In 2006, a French Publishing Company name Hachette Livre acquired Time Warner Book Group from the Time Warner Company (which had been trying to sell Warner Books for some time). They have renamed the company Hachette Book Group USA. They publish the Grand Central Publishing romances, including the Forever line. Manuscript submissions are currently in a drop down link on the right hand side of the Forever page. My publisher as Jesse Petersen (through their Sci-Fi/Fantasy imprint, Orbit). Verified 4/23/2014
Harlequin— Publisher of category and full-length romance fiction, as well as other types of genre books. Be sure to check their submission guidelines carefully, as they are very specific for each different line. Update: After hearing from several sources that Harlequin is no longer sending out the “vanity press recommendation” rejection, I’ve decided to add back the publisher. But if you receive a rejection recommending you send your work to their vanity press arm DellArte, please let me know. Verified 4/23/2014
Kensington Publishing Corp— They produce several lines, including Zebra, Brava, and Pinnacle. The submission guidelines are there and I like how they actually list each editor and their interests. This should help you direct your submission to the best person. Verified 4/23/2014
Penguin Group, Inc — Formerly known as Penguin Putnam, this longtime publisher has recently changed its name. They publish the NAL and Berkley/Jove lines of romance. They’ve also added a romance page, but it doesn’t contain any specific romance guidelines. They still have a general submissions page. Verified 4/23/2014
Random House, Inc— They publish most of their romances under the Ballantine/Ivy, Bantam/Dell, Delacorte, and Doubleday names (a full list of their imprints is on atRandom.com). Their FAQ states that they do not accept unsolicited manuscripts… and they do not post any guidelines. If you or your agent are thinking about Random house,be sure to check out the full list of manuscript related questions and get a good understanding of their lines to find where your manuscript could fit in. Verified 4/23/2014
Simon and Schuster — They publish both contemporary under the Pocket imprint and historical under the Sonnet imprint. They have a page especially for romance. They do have submission guidelines in general, but say they aren’t interested in submissions, however Pocket does actually take query letters. Verified 4/23/2014
Sourcebooks, Inc — This publisher is taking romance in several sub-genres. They don’t have a ton of info about their fiction imprints on their submission guidelines page, but there is one with some info about the company. Verified 4/23/2014
St. Martin’s Press — Another big publisher, with some weird quirks as far as the web goes. They have a site, but very little info and their submissions guidelines are fairly basic. Their romance line, Tor, still has its own website, but the imprint doesn’t offer any specific guidelines anymore. Verified 4/23/2014
Smaller Presses (Mixed Format)
These non-traditional presses often produce work in both Print-on-Demand trade format (POD) and electronic press format.
Amber Quill Press — An publisher who puts out romance, including erotic romance in electronic and trade paperback format. They do have submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Amira Press — A small press putting out work in both trade paperback and ebook formats. They have submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Atlantic Bridge Publishing — Offers many genres in electronic and trade paperback formats. Pays royalties but no advance. It does have submission guidelines. Looking for romance, especially “highly sensual” romance for their Liquid Silver imprint, which has its own website and submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Belgrave House — Reissues previously published romances and other print books where the rights have reverted back to the author. Does not take unpublished manuscripts, but if you published a print book in the past and want to see it reissued, this is a place to look. Submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Black Lyon Publishing, LLC — An electronic/trade publisher that wants some genres not necessarily pursued by mainstream publishing (including Ancient Times settings). Check out their guidelines for more info. Verified 8/1/2013
Black Velvet Seduction — A publisher of erotic, sensual, sweet and romantic suspense. Looks like books are published in both e and print formats. This publisher had once been removed because I hadn’t seen a new release from them in a long time, but they appear to be publishing regularly now. Verified 8/1/2013
Bold Strokes Books — Publishes gay and lesbian fiction and non-fiction, including romance and erotica lines. They have submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Breathless Press — Publisher takes erotic mostly, though it appears they may have some interest in other genres (or a mix of erotic and other genres) including Historical, Paranormal, and Wild West. They also publish YA through Lycaon Press. Submission guidelines are here. In Feb 2014, an author reported fast response on submissions (within 3 weeks) and that they’ve been good to work with. Verified 2/27/2014
Carnal Desires Publishing — Epublishing/POD format erotic romance publisher. Site is down for “maintenance” as of 8/26/2013. Will be removed from this list if the server is not back in the next week.
Champagne Books — This publisher publishes novellas around 25K, Contemporary, Erotic, Suspense, Fantasy and Historical, with word count caps of 80K. Submission guidelines here. Verified 5/14/2014
Changeling Press — This electronic and trade publisher mostly wants paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, or fetish romance. They accept both straight and gay storylines. Guidelines are here. Verified 8/1/2013
Cobblestone Press, LLC — Sensual and erotic romance publisher. They take everything from 10,000-word novellas to 100,000-word novels. Some go to print, though I didn’t find the guidelines for how those are chosen on the website (they may be there, but I didn’t see them). Submission guidelines are here. Verified 8/1/2013
DiskUs Publishing — Publisher of all kinds of stories from adventure to children’s to romance. They do have a set of submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Draumr Publishing — POD Trade Paperback publisher looking for romances with BBW (Big Beautiful Women), as well as other genre fiction. They have a FAQ and Submission Guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Echelon Press — An electronic small press that says it will publish their most successful titles in POD and even mass market. They take “all genres” of romance, as well as several other kinds of books. They are very specific about manuscript and submission format on their submissions page, so read carefully. Verified 8/1/2013
Ellora’s Cave Romance E-books — For those writing romantic erotica. Mostly time-travel, paranormal elements, and contemporary here. They do have pretty specific guidelines on what crosses that delicate line from romantica to pornography, so check out their submissions page before you submit. Verified 8/1/2013
Freya’s Bower — Epublisher of erotica, erotic romance and romance. There are submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Imajinn Books — If you’ve written a romance that doesn’t quite fit into traditional categories, this might be the place for you. They specialize in paranormal romance. They have submission guidelines (as well as a link to line parameters on the same page). Update: Imajinn did file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy a few years ago, but are still in business. Verified 4/23/2014
NEW! Little Chop Romance – a new Ebook publisher that specializes in romantic fiction featuring naturalista heroines of color. From one of their senior editors: “At Little Chop, you will find stories that showcase the diverse beauty and sexuality of women of color, while indulging readers with well-crafted tales of sensuality and love.” Verified 10/27/2014
NEW! LooseID – An erotic romance publisher that is currently accepting submissions from many romance genres (contemporary, historical, scifi/fantasy, etc.). Their submission guidelines include a lot of good information about guidelines, proposals, formatting, and even contract terms. Verified 8/26/2013
Lyrical Press — Now under the Kensington banner… A mixed format publisher that is taking a wide variety of types of stories. IT currently states that they are looking for erotic romance over 60,000 words. I don’t know a whole lot else about them, but they do have submission guidelines. Verified 5/26/2014
Medallion Press — Publishes romance in both trade and mass market They have both submission guidelines and a FAQ on their submission policy. They seem to take most varieties of romance. Update: Preditors and Editors is now listing them as “strongly not recommended” due to a poor contract. I have no idea of the particulars. Verified 8/1/2013
MLR Press — A publisher of gay romance/erotica. Submission guidelines are available, scroll down to see them. Verified 8/1/2013
Mundania Press — This publisher does all kinds of fiction, including romance and what they call ‘cross-genre fiction’. They have a sample contract up on their site, as well as submission guidelines. They also have a separate publisher for erotica/romantic erotica called Phaze. Submission guidelines for Phaze can be found here. Verified 8/1/2013
Parker Publishing, LLC — A publisher specializing in African-American literature. They have several romance lines. Check out their submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
Red Rose Publishing — Publisher focusing on all kinds of romance. Check out their submission guidelines for specifics. Verified 8/1/2013
Resplendence Publishing — One interesting thing about this romance publisher is their policy on historical romance. They take up through the 40s and while they will take Regency-set romance, they are interested in time periods not necessarily taken by traditional publishers. They also publish other genres and have submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
NEW! REUTS Publications. New publisher focused on Young Adult and New Adult romance. They have submission guidelines available as well. Verified 8/6/2013
Riptide Publishing — A publisher of LGBTQ fiction, romance, and erotica. The submission guidelines link is currently broken, but the site claims they are currently updating the site . Verified 8/1/2013
Samhain Publishing, LTD — Epublisher/Trade Paperback publisher. They take all genres of romance, as well as other fiction such as horror, fantasy, etc. Submission guidelines are available. This is Jess Michaels current publisher (http://www.samhainpublishing.com/author/jess-michaels/) Verified 8/1/2013
Sugar and Spice Press — A romance publisher that takes a variety of subgenres. I had trouble with the site running very slowly and I’m not super fond of their navigation on the site. But their submission guidelines are found here. Verified 8/1/2013
Torquere Press — A gay and lesbian erotic romance publisher. Check out their guidelines for more details. Verified 8/1/2013
Uncial Press — An epublisher taking various romance genres, including traditional Regency. Check out their submission guidelines and sample contract for more details. Verified 8/1/2013
The Wild Rose Press — A romance publisher that takes a lot of different subgenres (for a full list, check out their submission guidelines page and be sure to click the link to whatever type of book you write, more details guidelines are found, as well as who to submit to).
Xcite Books — A large independent press in Great Britain that publishes erotic romance and erotica. Check out their submission guidelines here. Verified 8/1/2013
Zumaya Publications — Romance publisher with a submissions page. In addition, they also own eXtasy Books, which does erotic romance of all kinds. They also have a separate submissions page. Verified 8/1/2013
Large Print/Library
Specialty presses that buy original and reprint rights for stories to be printed in large print formats. Many of these presses sell mainly to the library market.
Severn House — House that produces library copies and large-print editions, as well as regular books from new and previously released romance novels and other books. They have a submission page, though they really only want agented and established author submissions, I would wager. Verified 8/1/2013
Thorndike Press — Produces novels in large-print and hardback editions, often for libraries. There aren’t submission guidelines, but they do have a page where you can email editorial with questions. Verified 8/1/2013
Christian Presses
Specialty presses that only take inspirational romance. Inspirational romance isn’t just about the sensuality level. Most romances in this category include a journey of Faith, not just love.
NEW! Abingdon Press – An imprint of the United Methodist Publishing House with a focus on inspirational/religious fiction. They are currently accepting submissions for contemporary and historical romance. Submission guidelines are here. Verified 4/23/2014.
Baker Books — This Christian press publishes romance novels under their Bethany House Imprint. They have a hidden submissions page, but like most Christian publishers, they want you to use the agent/manuscript submissions sites. Verified 4/23/2014
Barbour Books — Christian publisher of romance and other fiction. Submission guidelines are here (Heartsong is their romance line). 4/23/2014
Howard Books — A Christian publisher (and division of Simon and Schuster) that has at least one romance-type book in their collection. They have been around for over thirty years. Howard Books links their submission page to the Simon and Schuster submission guidelines. Verified 8/1/2013
NEW! Pelican Book Group Christian Fiction – Formerly The White Rose press, Pelican is now re-branding and publishing as a separate imprint. They are currently looking for submissions with some specific guidelines. Verified 4/23/2014
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc— A Christian Press that once produced the HeartQuest line. Although HeartQuest seems to be gone, they still do list some romances in their upcoming and current releases. Submission guidelines are like most Christian publishers, though, in that they want you to go through the normal channels rather than direct submit. Verified 4/23/2014
Zondervan— Christian publisher (part of who does some romance. Update: There is a new submission guidelines page here. Verified 4/23/2014