Erotica and erotic romance sell steadily, and a handful of publishers build their whole list around them. If you have a steamy manuscript ready, here is where 15 publishers in this space stand today, and how to reach the ones that will read your work.
Thirteen of the publishers below take submissions from writers without an agent, from digital-first romance houses like Entangled and Carina to specialists such as Stormy Night, Changeling, and Riverdale Avenue Books. Two more, Tule and Penguin Random House, are reachable only through a literary agent for now. For each one you’ll find its heat level, the lengths it wants, what to send, and where its own guidelines live. Under “Names you may be looking for” you’ll find well-known erotica names that no longer offer a working route in. If none of them fits your book, browse my directory of 2,000 publishers.
Submission policies change without notice, so check the publisher’s own page before you send anything, and never pay a reading fee. Last verified: October 1, 2026.
Erotica publishers that accept submissions without an agent
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1. Entangled Publishing
Entangled is one of the largest independent romance houses, and its hottest line is Scorched, which publishes single-title and serialized erotic romance. The other imprints cover the rest of the spectrum: Amara for single-title adult romance, Embrace for new adult, Brazen, Bliss, Indulgence, and Lovestruck for category romance, Scandalous for historicals, and August for heroines over 40.
Entangled accepts agented and unagented submissions through its Submittable portal. Send a one-page query and the first three chapters only, because full manuscripts are deleted on receipt, and do not send work written with AI assistance. Digital-first titles earn up to 35% of the ebook cover price. Submission portal.
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2. Carina Press
Carina Press, now branded Carina by Harlequin, is Harlequin’s digital-first adult imprint, with select titles also released in audio and print. Erotic romance is one of its acquired genres, every romance category is open to all levels of sensuality, and it welcomes all pairings, including M/F, M/M, F/F, non-binary, trans, and polyamorous romance, plus dark romance.
Carina accepts both agented and unagented submissions. Manuscripts start at 50,000 words with no stated maximum, and every story needs a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending. Erotica without a central romance plot is outside its scope. Send a query, the full manuscript, and a three-to-five-page synopsis. Submission portal.
3. Decadent Publishing
Decadent Publishing publishes romance only, from “sweet to smoking hot”, and rates every book on a five-point heat scale. Level four is hot and graphic, and level five adds graphic language. It also runs shared-world series, such as Wiccan Haus, Black Hills Wolves, and Hot Moon Rising, and the 1Night Stand line, and it welcomes LGBTQIA2S+ stories.
Decadent accepts completed romance manuscripts of 15,000 words or more by email, together with its submission form. It takes no queries, partials, or simultaneous submissions, and it lists hard limits on content such as incest and non-consent written for titillation. Shared-world series start at 18,000 words, and some open calls ask for a proposal first. Submission guidelines.
4. Evernight Publishing
Evernight Publishing focuses on romance and erotic romance in every subgenre, from paranormal and fantasy to contemporary and suspense. It does not want sweet romance, though a separate mainstream line covers lower heat. Its lines include the main list at 16,000 to 100,000 words, Romance on the Go for 10,000 to 16,000 words, Naughty Fairy Tales, and the Planet Alpha science fiction romance line.
Evernight accepts exclusive submissions by email: a one-page synopsis and the full manuscript, with no simultaneous submissions. Every book needs a happy ending, and it aims to decide within 12 weeks. Royalties are 45% of gross on its own website sales and 45% of net through distributors, and it gives priority to popular tropes and authors with a social media presence. Submission guidelines.
5. Siren Publishing
Siren Publishing describes itself simply as “quality erotic romance”, and its catalog leans into the more adventurous end of the genre with ménage, male/male, and BDSM stories.
Siren accepts submissions through its sister site, BookStrand, and currently wants ménage, male/male, and male/female stories with BDSM, at 20,000 to 85,000 words. There are no fees. Royalties are 40% on BookStrand sales, 50% of distributor receipts, and 6% of cover price on print, paid quarterly. Find the guidelines from the Submissions link on BookStrand’s site.
6. Changeling Press
Changeling Press publishes high-heat romance for an adult female readership, with a strong paranormal streak: shifters, vampires, and science fiction, alongside reverse harem, MC romance, MPREG, and LGBTQA+ stories. Its books are short and intense, and that suits writers who like to work in tight, fast-moving stories.
Changeling accepts manuscripts of 20,000 to 40,000 words by email, in RTF or plain text only, because it does not open DOCX files. Include a promotion plan and your social media links. It does not take simultaneous submissions, previously published work, or AI-generated writing, and it turns down anything that, in its words, “un-empowers women (or men)”. Submission guidelines.
7. Stormy Night Publications
Stormy Night Publications has published since 2012 and has one of the clearest niches in the genre: romance and erotica built around spanking and BDSM. If your story has that at its heart, few publishers will understand it better, and its focus on a niche gives its books a loyal readership.
Stormy Night accepts manuscripts of 20,000 to 80,000 words through an online form, and the story must contain substantial spanking or BDSM content. In most cases it does not take short stories or collections, and it lists content it will not publish, including depictions of rape and punishment that causes injury. Submission guidelines.
8. Totally Bound Publishing
Totally Bound is a British book publisher that calls itself “the home of erotic romance fiction”. It is digital-first, rates its books from sweet all the way to XXX and extreme erotica, and covers contemporary, historical, paranormal, and science fiction romance.
Totally Bound accepts submissions through its parent company, Entwined Publishing, which was founded in 2006 and runs the submissions page for its imprints. It wants novels of 50,000 words or more and prefers series, and it posts imprint-specific calls there, so read the current call before you send. You’ll find the submissions link on Totally Bound’s own site.
9. Riverdale Avenue Books
Riverdale Avenue Books was launched in 2012 by industry veteran Lori Perkins and now runs 13 imprints. Three are aimed at this genre: Riverdale Desire for erotic romance and erotica, Riverdale Circlet for erotic science fiction and fantasy, and Riverdale Truth for erotic memoir. It publishes electronically.
Riverdale Avenue accepts queries from published and unpublished authors by email. Desire takes novels of 50,000 to 65,000 words and novellas of 20,000 to 40,000 words, and you can expect a reply within 30 to 60 days. Submission guidelines.
10. Bold Strokes Books
Bold Strokes Books is one of the best-known LGBTQ+ book publishers, focused on lesbian, sapphic, bisexual, and trans+ fiction, with gay mystery and general fiction too. Erotic fiction is one of its named categories, next to romance, mystery, and speculative fiction.
Bold Strokes accepts submissions by email: the full manuscript and a one-page synopsis, with no simultaneous submissions. Erotic fiction should run 50,000 to 80,000 words, romance 45,000 to 120,000, and novellas 15,000 to 30,000. You’ll get a confirmation within five days, and decisions take about 16 weeks on average. Submission guidelines.
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11. The Wild Rose Press
Authors RJ Morris and Rhonda Penders founded The Wild Rose Press in 2006 to give writers a friendlier home, and it has grown to more than 500 authors. Its lines are sorted by heat: Sweetheart Rose is closed-door, Champagne Rose covers contemporary romance from sensual to erotic, and its historical line allows love scenes from sweet to erotic.
The Wild Rose Press accepts email queries for manuscripts of 15,000 to 100,000 words, and books of 45,000 words or more are eligible for print. It declines stories that are sex without a substantive plot. Submission guidelines.
12. Lyrical Press (Kensington Publishing)
Lyrical Press is Kensington’s digital-first imprint, with the Lyrical Shine and Lyrical Underground lines. It publishes romance in every subgenre, plus romantic suspense, women’s fiction, new adult, and cozy mysteries, so it suits a sensual romance more than pure erotica.
Lyrical accepts submissions and says it is actively looking for new books. Query one editor by email with a synopsis, and allow at least three months, because no reply means no. Submission guidelines.
13. Black Velvet Seductions
Black Velvet Seductions is a small romance publisher whose list runs from sweet contemporary love stories to dark, erotic tales.
Black Velvet Seductions accepts submissions through an online form, with an Erotic category, a synopsis field, and a manuscript upload. Its newest blog posts are several years old, so look at its recent releases before you commit a manuscript to it. Submission form.
Erotica publishers to approach through an agent
14. Tule Publishing
Tule Publishing is a digital-first romance and mystery publisher best known for small-town series. It covers editing, cover art, and marketing at no cost to the author, and it expects novels of 50,000 to 90,000 words that can grow into a series.
Tule is currently closed to non-agented submissions because its schedule is full into 2028, so you’ll need a literary agent to reach it for now. Submissions page.
15. Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House has no dedicated erotica imprint, but it publishes a large catalog of steamy fiction, and its Vintage imprint published E.L. James’s Fifty Shades series, which pushed erotica into the mainstream. Its books come out in print and ebook format on a massive scale.
Penguin Random House does not accept unsolicited manuscripts in most cases, so you need a literary agent. The exception is an occasional open program, such as the Berkley Open Submission Program, which its imprints announce themselves. How to get published.
Names you may be looking for
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is the largest independent queer publisher in the United States, with long-running erotica and romance lines distributed by Simon & Schuster. Its own website no longer loads, so there is no current submissions page to use.
Did you know that “Fifty Shades of Grey,” an erotica novel by E.L. James, began as fan fiction before becoming a publishing sensation? Its widespread popularity transformed the erotica genre, bringing it into mainstream bookstores and spurring a significant increase in sales for other authors in the same genre.
Harlequin Spice
Spice was Harlequin’s erotica imprint. Harlequin’s current home for explicit romance is Carina (number 2 above), and its Afterglow line publishes spicy romance of 75,000 words or more.
Aphrodisia (Kensington Publishing)
Aphrodisia is Kensington’s erotic romance imprint, with a backlist of more than 130 titles. Kensington’s current submission guidelines do not list it, so query Kensington directly or try its Lyrical lines (number 12 above).
Dreamspinner Press
Dreamspinner Press built its name on LGBTQIA+ romance and erotica. Its website now shows only a “coming soon” page with no submission guidelines.
Romance Ink
Romance Ink, formerly Blushing Books, published spanking and BDSM romance. Its website no longer loads, so there is no current submissions page to use.
Luminosity Publishing
Luminosity Publishing is a small erotic romance press. Its website and submissions page no longer load, so there is no current route in.
Liquid Silver Books
Liquid Silver Books published paranormal erotic romance, and its backlist is still available through library platforms such as OverDrive. It has no working website or submissions page.
Wolfpack Publishing
Wolfpack Publishing reads unagented full-length novels and series, but its list is westerns, action-adventure, crime, and thrillers, with no erotica line.
Prairie Rose Publications
Prairie Rose Publications publishes historical and western romance with the spirit of the American West, so it suits frontier storytelling more than erotica.
Final Thoughts
If you write erotica or erotic romance, start with the thirteen publishers at the top of this list. Each one will read your work without an agent, and each has a clear shape: Stormy Night wants spanking and BDSM, Changeling wants short paranormal heat, Riverdale Avenue’s Desire line and Siren take explicit erotica, and Entangled’s Scorched and Carina want a strong romance at the center. Check the heat scale and word count, follow the guidelines to the letter, and give the editors time to answer. If your story is shorter, my list of novella publishers may help, and for lower-heat love stories try the guide to romance novel publishers.
Rafal Reyzer
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