Harlequin/Mills & Boon is the home of romance and we want to read your love stories! We’re always looking for new authors across the 12 Harlequin series for which we are acquiring, and we encourage all writers to submit to the series best suited to their unique voice and style.
We are actively working to increase diversity and representation among our authors and stories so that readers will see themselves reflected in the books we publish. If you’re a writer from a community that’s underrepresented when you browse the bookshelves for romance, and think you could write for us, we want to hear from you.
In summer 2019, Harlequin launched the Romance Includes You Mentorship that offers aspiring romance writers from underrepresented communities the chance to work one-on-one with a Harlequin editor for a year on writing a romance novel, and includes an offer to publish their book and $5,000 (US) to support their novel writing. Interested writers can make a submission between September 1 and October 15, 2019 and find full details here.
The mentorship initiative follows the initial Romance Includes You submission campaign in 2018. We encouraged authors from underrepresented or marginalized backgrounds and communities to pitch their story ideas to our editors via Twitter and invited hundreds of writers to send us a synopsis and first chapter. We reviewed over 200 submissions and asked more than 45 writers for full manuscripts for consideration. We hope some of these writers will join our talented group of published Harlequin authors.
If you missed the campaign, you can still submit to us. As part of our ongoing commitment to make sure #RomanceIncludesYou, you can submit to one of our Harlequin series any time and include #RIU before your title in the “manuscript title” field when submitting to one of our Series. We welcome unagented submissions from authors of all ethnicities, backgrounds and communities, sexual orientations and genders, ages, religions and disabilities. If your story includes characters from outside your own experience, use the writing tips we’ve shared on this site to make sure they are well researched and developed.
How do you decide which of our fabulous series you want to write for? Click here to download free books from all the romance series we publish, see our “Which Series Are You?” overviews (Part 1 and Part 2) and read the writing guidelines for each. You can also find blog posts and writing tips on this site to help you perfect your submission.
Submitting to Trade Imprints
Unagented or agented submissions: Beyond our series romance imprints, Carina Press acquires adult romance and mystery titles and accepts submissions from authors and agents. Carina Press publishes LGBTQ+ fiction across genres and is now accepting submissions for a new trope-based LGBTQ+ contemporary romance line called Carina Adores that will launch in early 2020. You can read additional information about Carina Press here.
Agented submissions: Harlequin’s additional trade imprints welcome authors from all backgrounds and communities to submit through an agent. You can find out more about our trade imprints here.
#RomanceIncludesYou is part of Harlequin’s ongoing commitment to reach out to underrepresented writers and to publish diverse and inclusive voices and stories. We will keep you informed of new initiatives and look forward to reading your submissions!
2 replies on “#RomanceIncludesYou Supports Diversity and Inclusion”
For RomanceIncludesYou there is a section of the population that you have underrepresented but do include in Kimani Romance occasionally. It was very nice to see and read multiracial romance in Kimani because not every Black Woman has a boyfriend or husband who is of the same race, it was nice to have also been included. So, if no one has ever thanked your Company before or if your Company has received negative comments for the multiracial inclusion in Kimani Romance; I would like to Thank You for the occasional inclusion. [maybe not every month – maybe every three months it would be nice to be included 🙂 ] Thank You and have a Good Day.
I have made two attempts yet can not get to submit the myQuery letter. Sad I do the work but can not get it tot the
I am unable to get my query letter through to Harlequin category romance publisher
Comments ( 7 )
I spent the entire shutdown working. Had no time to wind down. I didn’t see my son much when school shutdown. My one co worker was told to stay home for 3 weeks so I picked up her hours. This year has been really crappy.
Ugh, Janell. Here’s hoping the rest of your summer is better.
Thanks for the info, Carol! Everyone is different in how they deal with the shutdown! I stay at home all the time since I don’t work so I haven’t been too effected but my shopping and errands sure have been effected!
Valri, I’ve been doing most of my shopping online. My local Target is still low on some items – mostly cleaning supplies. Grocery store is pretty much back to normal. Most of the dining in our town is outdoor. I can’t imagine have school-age kids!
Wow–getting your creative process on track must have been daunting–especially with “extra-large dog” glad to have you home. You don’t like coffee–I love coffee and have enjoyed my fortifying 2 cups in the morning even more than usual! How as COVID affected your story lines and characterizations? Best Wishes for all releases!
Interesting question, Virginia. You’ll have to tell me if the tone of my “COVID” books changed any! LOL
Life has changed so much! My dad passed Feb 2. The assisted living facility my folks were at went into hardcore lockdown the beginning of March. Mom couldn’t leave her apartment for 4 months! She was on the third floor, Will be 89 in two months & doesn’t use the phone. My husband and I remodeled the lower level completely and moved her in with us July 1. What a life change and difficult transition for the 3 of us! But we’re working thru it!