Carina Press is Harlequin’s digital-first adult fiction imprint, publishing first in ebook, with select releases in audio and print. Since its inception as the first digital imprint within a traditional publishing house, Carina Press has been an industry leader, and we continue to publish a broad range of romance, including paranormal, contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, LGTBQ+, and more. We accept submissions of all heat levels, with a minimum word count of 50k and a maximum word count of 125k.
Below you’ll find a general list of what we’re looking for to fill our 2025/2026 publishing schedule. This is an expansive list but not an exclusive one—if you have a great story that meets our submission guidelines but isn’t mentioned here, please send it our way!
We welcome all pairings and groupings—LGBTQ+ romances as well as m/f—and would especially welcome stories from authors belonging to traditionally marginalized communities.
Paranormal:
- Monster romance. Specifically looking for high heat levels for this one! Think: Kimberly Lemming. Could range from cozy in both tone and setting to something darker. We’d love to see more LGBTQ+ characters and pairings, specifically M/M, in this space.
- Fantasy romance. These romances can stand alone or carry a romance arc over multiple books, but the romance arc must eventually end in an HEA. Heat level can vary—we’re open to cozier material (The Baby Dragon Café is a great example here) or something with more spice.
- Polyamorous relationships
- Werewolves and omegaverse. Think: Emory Winters, Hannah Haze, Tessa Kane.
Romantic Suspense:
- Suspense with heavy emphasis on the central romance. We’re looking for strong, protective characters, dramatic rescues, and off the charts chemistry, especially featuring LGBTQ+ and/or military characters. Ideally each book in a series will stand alone, with light touches on any complicated plotlines that take multiple books to resolve.
- Suspense with a paranormal twist. Think: Hailey Turner or K.D. Edwards. Looking for more M/M romances in this space.
Dark Romance:
- Looking for dark romance with varying genres and tropes – like billionaires and dark fantasy – with characters put through the emotional ringer; especially interested in slow burn romance arcs (but high heat once the protagonists finally get together!).
- Dark M/M, like Onley James’ serial killer series or the works of K.A. Merikan
- LGBTQ+ dark academia
- Stories with the “Who Hurt You” trope
- Mafia romances with enemies to lovers plotlines, especially in the M/M space
Contemporary Romance with a Twist:
- Cozy contemporary romance with creative twists on classic themes:
- Nanny/single dad
- Cinderella story
- Coach’s daughter
- Hidden/mistaken identity
- City heroine/country hero
- Homecomings
- Best friend’s younger sister
- Stories with a specific seasonality, especially fall
- K-Pop romance, especially in the M/M space
- Contemporary romance featuring a mystery twist with a strong voice and strong female lead that have potential to continue over multiple books. Think Julie Moffett and Jana DeLeon.
- Romances featuring missed connections, like Coleman Domingo and his husband’s story
High heat/spicy Western featuring a Diversity of Characters and Romantic Journeys:
- Sapphic Western— think Chappell Roan and gay romance. Think Orville Peck!
- Rodeo set romances written by Black authors and featuring Black characters
- Trope-heavy contemporary Western a la Lyla Sage or Elsie Silver
Want to know more about Carina Press? Watch our Editor POV with Senior Editor Stephanie Doig below:
Find the full submission guidelines for Carina Press on CarinaPress.Submittable.com
