It’s been a few years since I did a list of romance novel publishers, so here’s an updated one for 2021! In my experience, researching romance novel publishing houses can take a very long time…time that could be better spent on editing your novel or starting a new one, am I right? (By the way, you might want to get some inspiration from my list of 50 romance writing prompts!)

I’ve divided the list into two sections: book publishing companies that don’t take unsolicited submissions, and ones that do. With romance publishers that don’t accept unsolicited submissions, you usually need an agent (although there may be opportunities to make a connection through networking and at a conference…and you can check out my advice about about how to pitch a novel to an agent.) When you’re querying agents, it may be helpful to have a guess about which publishers are a good fit with your book. However, even some of the top romance publishers have imprints that take unsolicited submissions.

This isn’t a complete list. They’re all in the USA or Canada, and I’ve omitted a few romance publishers that specialize in very hot romance because I try to keep this blog more or less clean (although most of the romance publishers listed here do include steamy romance as part of their catalog.) If there’s someone I should add to this list, let me know at bryndonovan@bryndonovan.com.

You can click on the name of each publisher to read their submission guidelines. For each publisher, I’m including a link to few recent releases in case you want to get a feel for them.

Be sure to bookmark this list or pin it to a Pinterest board so you’ve got it when you need it!

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Romance Publishers That Don’t Accept Unsolicited Submissions

Avon Romance

This HarperCollins imprint is one of the top romance novel publishers. I associate them most with lush historical romance, but they also publish contemporary romance and paranormal romance. Their digital-only arm, Avon Impulse, has been open to unagented submissions in the past, so you might want to check in on them and see if they open up submissions again.

Recent release: How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

Berkley Publishing Group

This imprint of Penguin Random House publishes genre fiction, including all kinds of romance.

Recent release: Archangel’s Sun, Nalini Singh

Bethany House

This division of Baker Publishing specializes in sweet Christian romance and other Christian fiction.

Recent release: The Stone Wall by Beverly Lewis

Forever (Grand Central Publishing)

Forever is GCP’s romance imprint, publishing a lot of contemporary and historical romance. They are open to unagented submissions from BIPOC authors, and their digital-only imprint is open to unagented submissions—see below.

Recent release: The Boyfriend Project, Farrah Rochon

Hallmark Publishing

This is the books division of the Hallmark Channel. It’s the newest of the publishing companies on this list, and I’m the founding executive editor. I acquire G-rated full-length romance novels, and we publish all books in trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook, with an occasional second run in mass market paperback. People usually associate Hallmark with Christmas romance, but most of our list is “everyday romance.” If the book gets made into a Hallmark movie, that’s a nice extra payday for the author.

Recent release: Christmas Charms by Teri Wilson

HQN

HQN is a prestigious line from Harlequin that publishes “the best in mainstream bestseller romance.”

Recent release: The Sea Glass Cottage by RaeAnne Thayne

MIRA

MIRA is another imprint from Harlequin, publishing high-profile romance and other adult fiction.

Recent release: Shelter Mountain (A Virgin River Novel) by Robyn Carr

Montlake Publishing

This is Amazon’s house brand of romance, and their catalog includes romcom romance and other contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.

Recent release: Trusting Skylar, Susan Stoker

St. Martin’s Press

This division of Macmillan publishes all kinds of books, including some high-profile romance.

Recent release: The Awakening (The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 1) by Nora Roberts

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Romance Publishers That Accept Unsolicited Submissions

No agent? No problem! You can submit to these publishers directly.

Bold Strokes Books

Bold Strokes is an independent publisher LGBTQ+ romance novels and other fiction in ebook, trade paperback, and audiobook.

Recent release: Scent by Kris Bryant

Bouroughs Publishing Group

If you’re looking for fantasy romance publishers, you might want to check them out. They’re also looking for romance and women’s fiction in the following categories: Contemporary, Dystopian, Fantasy, Historical (esp. Regency), New Adult, Paranormal, Suspense/Thrillers, Urban Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Recent release: Solitary Man by Diane Benefiel

Carina Press

This digital-first imprint of Harlequin acquires both romance novellas and full-length romance novels. They’re interested in the romance subgenres of Contemporary, Paranormal & Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romantic Suspense, and Historical. I think they are very LGBTQ+ friendly.

Recent release: Out on the Ice by Kelly Farmer

City Owl Press

This publishing company, started by two women, publishes romance and speculative fiction. On the romance side, they’re looking for contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, scifi romance, time travel romance, and romantic suspense.

Recent release: My Song’s Curse by Poppy Minnix

Entangled Publishing

This is also a woman-owned romance publisher, looking for both romance novellas and full-length romance novels. They’ve got several lines, including ones specializing in teen or young adult romance, so if you’re writing YA, you especially want to check them out.

Recent release: Her Wicked Marquess by Stacy Reid

Forever (BIPOC Only)

At the time of my posting, Forever has an open call for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) authors.

Forever Yours

The ebooks division of Grand Central Publishing says, “We’re interested in all styles of romance, particularly contemporary, diverse reads, romantic suspense, cowboys, historicals, and paranormal.” They publish both romance novellas and full-length romance novels.

Recent release: It’s All About That Cowboy by Carly Bloom

Harlequin

Harlequin is probably the most famous out of all the romance novel publishing houses. They accept unagented submissions for series romance, which are the smaller/skinnier Harlequins.

Recent releases:

The Fugitive (A Marshal Law Novel Book 1) by Nichole Severn (Harlequin Intrigue)

A Shopkeeper for the Earl of Westram (The Widows of Westram) by Ann Lethbridge (Harlequin Historical)

Harpeth Road Press

This is a new digital publisher founded by author Jenny Hale.

Imajinn Books

They don’t accept simultaneous submissions unless they are agented. (How any book publishing companies expect to enforce this is, frankly, beyond me.) I always think of them as fantasy romance publishers, but that’s only one category they publish. They also do contemporary romance, holiday romance (which usually means Christmas romance), new adult, paranormal romance, Regency and other historical romance, scifi romance, and young adult romance.

Recent release: The Stone Warriors: Dragan by D.B. Reynolds

Loveswept and Flirt

Although this digital imprint of Penguin Random House isn’t taking unsolicited submissions right now, I believe they have in the past, so you might want to check back. Loveswept publishes romance and women’s fiction; Flirt focuses on the New Adult market.

Recent release: Must Love Dogs…and Hockey, Kelly Jamieson

Lyrical

This is the ebook division of Kensington. You’ll want to make sure to direct your submission to the correct editor, so check out what each editor is looking for.

Recent release: Guardian’s Grace (Dark Protectors) by Rebecca Zanetti

Soul Mate Publishing

They’re looking for novels of 50,000 to 90,000 words in the categories of action/adventure romance, chick lit , contemporary romance , fantasy romance, historical romance, inspirational romance (which is generally the trade name for Christian romance), new adult romance, paranormal romance, futuristic or scifi romance, romantic suspense, time travel romance, and young adult romance. They encourage blending genres.

Recent release: Waking for Winter, Katherine McIntyre

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Sourcebooks is a big deal. They’re the largest woman-owned publishing company in the U.S. (and I got to talk with the founder, Dominique Raccah, last fall.) The very knowledgeable Deb Werksman, who I’ve also chatted with a few times, has been the editorial director for their romance imprint, Sourcebooks Casablanca, for a long time now. They publish longer romance novels: 85,000 to 100,000 words. The categories they’re looking for include paranormal romance, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and historical romance (prior to 1900 only).

Recent release: Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal (The Windhams: The Duke’s Daughters, 2) by Grace Burrowes

Tule Publishing

Tule was founded in 2013 by romance author Jane Porter, which makes them newer as book publishing companies go. They’re definitely worth checking out. (they also publish mystery.)

Recent release: Love at the Icicle Café by Denise N. Wheatley

The Wild Rose Press

Well, this is interesting: they’re launching a short story series in 2021. The romance novel categories they’re looking for include clean and wholesome romance (they say “think Hallmark movie”—hahaha), romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and fantasy romance.

Recent release: Wylder Hearts (The Wylder West), Kim Turner

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I hope this list of romance novel publishers was helpful to some of you, and whether you’re writing romance or something else, I wish you lots of luck on your projects! And if you don’t want to miss future writing posts, make sure to follow the blog: there’s a place to sign up on the lefthand side of the page.

And if you’d like a guide to writing a novel—from planning it out to revising—check out my book Blank Page to Final Draft! It’ll take you through every step. [spacer height=”20px”]

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Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!

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