A yellow and pink illustrated graphic which features a group of diverse, cartoon people laughing. It reads Romance Includes You Mentorship: Submissions Open on May 1st 2024.
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A Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Update from Harlequin

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Harlequin aims to publish a wide variety of diverse and inclusive stories so that readers see themselves reflected in the authors and stories we publish. We continue reaching out to the writing community and working to publish more romance stories by authors of all backgrounds, communities and cultures.

Here’s the latest update on ways Harlequin is working to support greater diversity in the romance genre.

Celebrating Black History Month

Harlequin is celebrating Black History Month with a new video by HER NEW YORK MINUTE author Darby Baham (Harlequin Special Edition) highlighting books by some of the amazing authors who have inspired her to celebrate Black joy in her own work. The blog post with Darby’s book recommendations links to a year-round promotion on Harlequin.com of romance stories starring Black characters.

2024 Romance Includes You Mentorship Launches

A yellow and pink illustrated graphic which features a group of diverse, cartoon people laughing. It reads Romance Includes You Mentorship: Submissions Open on May 1st 2024.

Harlequin announced its Romance Includes You Mentorship for 2024 in February. For this initiative, Harlequin is looking for story submissions from debut romance writers in underrepresented communities who are interested in starting their writing careers with Harlequin. We will begin accepting submissions on May 1, 2024. The Romance Includes You Mentorship seeks new voices in romantic fiction that bring more diversity and representation to the genre. Read more about the Mentorship here.

Emma-Claire Sunday was our 2023 recipient. Her forthcoming debut, a Regency romance story about two high society women of the Ton, is coming in fall 2024 from Harlequin Historical Romance. Read more about Emma-Claire Sunday here.

Librarian Grant

To support new librarians amid book bans, HTP Books partnered with the American Library Association (ALA) to fund The NMRT Professional Development Award. This award will support a new librarian to attend the 2024 ALA Annual Conference this June in San Diego.

Drag Story Hour

Harlequin’s Library Marketing team created thoughtful care packages for 35 librarians across the United States who host Drag Story Hour events, a national organization that celebrates reading through the glamorous art of drag. The packages, containing book gifts for librarians and performers, fun stickers, pins and tattoos, were sent to librarians who actively support welcoming and inclusive communities through their participation.

A group of 7 people stand in front of a grey wall, each holding a black box which reads Here All Year
Harlequin Marketing team members (back, l to r) Randy Chan, Ashley MacDonald, Alexandra McCabe, Dayna Boyer, Pam Osti, (front, l to r) Puja Lad and Kali Luckhee pitched in to package Drag Story Hour gift boxes for librarians.

From the Editors

A photograph of blue and purple flowers with a tea cup on the right side. The words A Literary High Tea at Alderlea: Romance Writers Edition is overlaid on the top left

Harlequin at the 2024 Festival of Literary Diversity

Blue to black background with coral curved elements. Text says Write for Harlequin: Writing Advice: Understanding a Villain's Motivation (And How to Write It!). There is a photo of a man in silhouette staring out at the dark ocean.

Understanding A Villain’s Motivation (and How to Write It)

A purple and white graphic with an illustrated microphone on the left side with a book cover and author photo. It reads In Conversation with Emma-Claire Sunday and Historical Editor Hannah Rossiter in the top right corner.

Romance Includes You Mentorship: In Conversation with Author Emma-Claire Sunday and Editor Hannah Rossiter