24 Best Romance Novel Publishers (15 Need No Agent)

Let’s turn up the heat level with these romance publishers. Whether you write sweet small-town love stories, steamy paranormal, or sapphic romcoms, the question is the same: who will read your manuscript right now, and how do you get it to them?

Below you’ll find 24 romance novel publishers, grouped by how you get in. Fifteen will read your book with no agent involved, from Harlequin and Mills & Boon to small digital-first presses built around a single heat level. Two work only through agents at the moment, five are shut to new writers for now, and two are publishing without a route you can confirm on their sites. For every entry you’ll find what the house wants, how to send it, and a link to its own guidelines. If romance is only part of your search, browse my full list of 3,000+ publishing companies.

Submission policies change without notice, so check the publisher’s own page before you send anything, and never pay a reading fee. Last verified: September 24, 2026.

Romance publishers you can submit to without an agent

1. Harlequin

Harlequin has been the name in category romance since 1949 and now sits inside HarperCollins. It accepts unagented submissions directly through its Submittable manager, where you pick the series that fits your book before you send anything. Most series ask for a query letter, a 3 to 5 page synopsis, and either the full manuscript or the first three chapters, but lengths and requirements vary line by line, so read the series guidelines first. Email submissions are deleted unread. Harlequin also posts targeted calls for specific lines and themes at Write for Harlequin, which is the quickest way to see what editors are hunting for this season. Submission guidelines.

Working on a book of your own? You can publish it yourself with PublishDrive (affiliate link).

2. Mills & Boon

Mills & Boon is Harlequin’s British arm and the home of lines such as Modern, Historical, Medical, Heroes, Desire and Afterglow Books. Its submissions page states that a literary agent is not required in order to submit. Choose one line, read that line’s guidelines, then send a 3 to 5 page synopsis and the first three chapters as two separate double-spaced Word documents through Harlequin’s Submittable. Expect an answer in roughly 12 to 14 weeks. It asks you not to send the same book to other publishers at the same time, and it talks about payment only once a contract is on the table. Submission guidelines.

3. Carina Press

Carina now trades as Carina by Harlequin, a digital-first imprint that releases ebooks first, with selected titles in audio and print. Its old carinapress.com address simply forwards to Harlequin’s shop, so use the Submittable portal below. Carina accepts both agented and unagented submissions across paranormal and urban fantasy romance, science fiction and fantasy romance, romantasy, dark romance, contemporary romance and romantic comedy, LGBTQ+ romance and historical romance, at any heat level and roughly 50,000 to 125,000 words. The romance has to be the heart of the book with a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending; a mystery only fits if the love story is central. The imprint is actively seeking writers from underrepresented communities. Submission guidelines.

4. Forever (Hachette Book Group)

Forever is the romance imprint of Grand Central Publishing, part of Hachette Book Group, and its main print list works through agents. The door for everyone else is Forever Yours, its digital-first line, which accepts both agented and unagented submissions. Email a query letter in the body of the message, with a 3 to 5 page synopsis and the complete manuscript attached: 50,000 to 100,000 words for a novel or 25,000 to 50,000 for a novella. Replies take up to eight weeks. Know the terms before you send: Forever Yours pays no advance, but it pays 50% of net ebook royalties quarterly and offers print-on-demand for books over 50,000 words. Submission guidelines.

5. Entangled Publishing

Entangled is the house behind Fourth Wing, and it runs a romance imprint for almost every niche, including Amara, Brazen, Embrace, Red Tower Books and Entangled Teen. It accepts agented and unagented submissions through Submittable, and it wants the first three chapters only: a full manuscript sent up front is deleted on receipt. Target length is roughly 50,000 to 60,000 words, varying by imprint. The response window is about 90 business days, after which you are free to resubmit or move on. Submission guidelines.

6. The Wild Rose Press

The Wild Rose Press calls itself a royalty-paying publisher, and you query its editors directly by email, one department at a time. Sweetheart Rose takes sweet, closed-door stories with a Hallmark-movie tone; Champagne Rose covers sensual to erotic contemporary romance; Crimson Rose handles romantic suspense and cozy mystery; the Paranormal department wants fae, vampires, dragons and shifters; and Historical requires a happy ending and is not currently seeking books set between 1900 and 2000, apart from specific wartime stories. Manuscripts run from 15,000 to 100,000 words, and print editions start at 45,000. Everything happens online, so expect Word’s Track Changes and at least one active social media account. Submission guidelines.

7. Bold Strokes Books

Bold Strokes publishes LGBTQ+ fiction by and for queer readers: lesbian, sapphic, bisexual, trans and gay romance, plus mystery, thrillers, young adult and erotic fiction. No agent is needed, but the process starts with an email query that gives your synopsis and intended publication date before you send a full manuscript. Romance runs 45,000 to 120,000 words, erotic fiction 50,000 to 80,000, and novellas 15,000 to 30,000. You’ll get a confirmation within five days and a decision in around 16 weeks on average. Send your manuscript to one publisher at a time here; Bold Strokes discourages simultaneous submissions. For more options, see my list of LGBTQ book publishers. Submission guidelines.

8. Bella Books

Bella Books publishes fiction for women who love women, and romance is the category it is prioritizing right now. Its process applies to authors and agents alike, so you can send your work yourself by email. It wants a complete manuscript of at least 60,000 words, with no upper limit, and it will not consider a book that is out with other publishers at the same time. Include a cover letter with your bio and why the book will appeal to lesbian readers, plus a synopsis. Bella promises a decision within 90 days. Submission guidelines.

9. Decadent Publishing

Decadent Publishing is always accepting submissions for its main romance line and its shared-world series, including Wiccan Haus, Black Hills Wolves and 1Night Stand, each of which has its own series bible. Heat levels run from 1 for sweet to 5 for explicit, and LGBTQIA2S+ and diverse stories are welcome. Email the complete manuscript, at least 15,000 words, with its downloadable submission form attached. It won’t look at queries alone, partial manuscripts, or books sent to other publishers at the same time. Submission guidelines.

10. Changeling Press

Changeling Press publishes short, high-heat romance for an adult, mainly female readership: contemporary, paranormal and science fiction stories of 20,000 to 40,000 words. Submissions go directly to the press by email, with no agent involved. Format matters here: send an RTF or TXT file, not DOCX, and only work that is exclusive to Changeling and has not been published before. Its AI policy leaves no room for doubt: no AI-generated submissions of any kind will be considered. Submission guidelines.

11. Inkspell Publishing

Inkspell is an ebook-first romance publisher, and its general submissions are open at any time. It wants 30,000 to 75,000 words, with exceptions considered, across paranormal, contemporary, sweet and romantic suspense, including a Christian romantic suspense line. Email your manuscript directly; editing and covers are provided at no cost to you, and you are expected to help with marketing through social media, events and promotions. Stories involving rape, bestiality or pedophilia are refused. Submission guidelines.

12. Evernight Publishing

Evernight has been publishing romance and erotic romance since 2010, and it is plain about its model: it is not a vanity publisher, and you never pay to be published. Authors earn 50% of gross royalties on sales from its own site and 50% of net from other retailers. It is accepting completed manuscripts of 10,000 to 100,000 words in every sub-genre of romance and erotic romance, and it gives priority to popular tropes and to authors with a social media presence. Email a short query with your legal name, pen name, title, word count, genre and any writing credits, with SUBMISSION in the subject line, and attach a one-page synopsis and the complete manuscript in Word. Submission guidelines.

13. Boroughs Publishing Group

Boroughs is a romance house with digital and print-on-demand distribution, and it accepts both non-agented and agented submissions. Its guidelines are cheerfully open-minded: space cowboys, gargoyles, the hunk next door and crusty cops are all welcome, at any heat level, as long as the romance is the focus and the book ends happily ever after or happy for now. Send a complete manuscript of 40,000 to 60,000 words for a novella or 60,000 to 100,000 for a novel. One requirement surprises people: you must be able to show an active social media following. Its Lunchbox Romance line is not taking submissions. Submission guidelines.

14. Spencer Hill Press

Spencer Hill Press, now published alongside Beaufort Books, has reopened to submissions after a break, and it is taking two kinds of book only: young adult, and new adult or contemporary romance. Submissions are digital only, through its Submittable portal, and you won’t get an acknowledgment of receipt. Allow 12 to 16 weeks for an answer. Because the reopening is recent, check that the portal is taking entries before you prepare your package. Submission guidelines.

15. Text Publishing

Text is a Melbourne publisher of commercial and literary fiction and nonfiction, and it is now part of Penguin Random House Australia while still running its own submissions. It is open to submissions only from citizens and residents of Australia and New Zealand, one manuscript per person at a time, through a form on its site. Adult and young adult novels should be 40,000 to 120,000 words. Simultaneous submissions are fine if you say so, and a decision takes about three months. Romance fits here when it also works as broader commercial or literary fiction. Submission guidelines.

Romance publishers that read only through an agent

16. Allison & Busby

Allison & Busby is a London independent founded in 1967, with a list that leans toward crime and historical fiction alongside general fiction. Because of the volume of manuscripts it receives, it now considers only submissions that come through a literary agent. Its own advice is to find representation first, and it points writers to The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook for a list of agencies. Submission guidelines.

17. Tule Publishing

Tule is a busy full-service romance and women’s fiction publisher, strong on small-town contemporary and sweet, cinematic romance. It is closed to non-agented submissions because its schedule is full into 2028, so for now the only route in is through an agent. Editing, cover art, formatting and marketing come at no cost to the author. When the window reopens, it welcomes #ownvoices stories, but it never takes books that are already published. About Tule and submissions.

Closed to new submissions for now

18. ImaJinn Books

ImaJinn Books now publishes as part of the BelleBooks and Bell Bridge Books group, and it is closed to unsolicited and unagented submissions at this time; anything emailed in is deleted without a reply. When it reopens, it wants romance, paranormal romance, mystery, suspense, fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction and horror of 60,000 to 110,000 words, but no young adult, middle grade or picture books. Keep an eye on its page for writers. Page for writers.

19. eXtasy

eXtasy Books calls itself one of the oldest full-service, royalty-paying digital publishers, and its submissions page carries a banner in capitals: it is closed to submissions. The guidelines below the banner show what it wants when it reopens: romance in every sub-genre with a happy ending between the leads, young adult, and mainstream fiction, from 15,000 words. Submission page.

20. Harpeth Road

Harpeth Road is closed to submissions until its publishing calendar clears. It publishes two kinds of romance: closed-door contemporary romance for the general market, and contemporary inspirational romance with an explicitly Christian worldview, both at 60,000 to 90,000 words. Authors earn 35% of net ebook royalties and pay nothing. Its guidelines insist that manuscripts are not AI-generated or AI-assisted, and it takes work only through its official form, not by email. Submission guidelines.

21. Hot Tree Publishing

Hot Tree Publishing, the sister company of Hot Tree Editing, publishes adult and new adult romance from a Google Sites page rather than its own domain. It has paused public submissions to focus on its catalogue and is closed to new writers for now, working only with authors it already has under contract. When it reopens, it wants books of at least 50,000 words, or completed serials of 30,000 to 50,000, never published before. Its AI policy is one of the strictest you’ll find: no manuscript created or materially developed with generative AI at any stage, from brainstorming to prose.

22. Soul Mate Publishing

Soul Mate Publishing sells romance in ebook and paperback across a wide spread of sub-genres, from contemporary and historical to fantasy and inspirational. Right now it is closed to new writers: it reads submissions only from its existing authors or from writers an editor has invited directly. Submission page.

Publishing romance, with no confirmed submission route on their sites

23. Sourcebook Casablanca

Casablanca is the romance imprint of Sourcebooks, the women-led independent publisher, and it covers contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal and historical romance. Sourcebooks posts its Casablanca guidelines on its own reader site. Read the current version there before you query; that page is the one reliable source for this imprint’s route. Casablanca guidelines page.

24. Limitless Publishing

Limitless Publishing is a family-owned house with a large, active catalogue of contemporary, romantic suspense, new adult and dark romance. Its site no longer carries a submissions page, and the old guidelines address is gone, so there is no published route for writers today. If you love its list, follow the publisher for news of a reopening instead of emailing a manuscript cold.

Names you may be looking for

Hallmark Publishing

Hallmark Publishing brought the feel of Hallmark movies to books, with companion novels and originals that came with recipes. Hallmark ended its book publishing in late 2022, and its old page now simply points readers to the Hallmark Channel. There is nowhere to submit.

Dreamspinner Press

Dreamspinner Press built one of the biggest catalogues of gay romance. Its website now shows only a “coming soon” page, with no bookstore and no submissions route, and direct ebook sales through the site ended in August 2025. Until that changes, there is nowhere to send a manuscript.

Vinspire Publishing

Vinspire began in 2004 as Vintage Romance Publishing. Do not send anything to its old web address: vinspirepublishing.com now belongs to an unrelated law firm, and the publisher has no current website.

Black Lyon Publishing

Black Lyon, an independent in Oregon, is still reading queries, but its current guidelines ask for political and legal thrillers and nonfiction, with no romance line.

Bullitt Publishing

Bullitt published contemporary romance. Its domain now shows only a web-hosting placeholder, with no books and no guidelines.

Romance Ink

Romance Ink’s site no longer loads, so there is no current submissions page to use.

Conclusion

Romance is the most open genre in publishing, and this list shows it: fifteen publishers here will read your book without an agent, from the biggest category house in the world to presses that publish one heat level brilliantly. Pick two or three whose recent books look like yours, check their guidelines on the day you submit, and follow each one to the letter. If your story runs hot, my list of erotica book publishers is the next stop, and if it is set in another century, try the guide to historical fiction publishers.